Trying Again
by Dishon 3
Summary: After Madara kills Sasuke, He is sent back in time by The Sage of Six Paths with his memories intact. Sasuke now has all the knowledge of what transpires in the past and he, for once, gets to control his own future. How will he handle it? Time Travel Fic. Stronger/Smarter Sasuke
1. Returning to the Past

**Chapter 1**

Sasuke woke up with a huge headache as looked at his hands in disbelief. He was actually a young kid again. He had another chance to live his life, and to make things better. He recalled the conversation he had with the Sage of the Six Paths.

 **Flashback**

 ** _Darkness. Sasuke opened his eyes expecting to see Itachi and the rest of his family waiting for him in whatever afterlife they went to. He had given his all against Madara, but in the end Sasuke was stabbed through his chest and rendered unconscious from his wounds. He thought that he had died but as he looked around in the dark room he realized that this wasn't the afterlife. In fact he didn't know where he was._**

" ** _Where am I?" Sasuke wondered aloud continuing to look around the room._**

" ** _That's indeed a hard question to answer. I suppose that in a sense you are in fact dead, but not completely lost" a voice from behind him said in a semi amused tone._**

 ** _Sasuke whipped around to come face to face with a floating man with 2 Rinnegan eyes and another weird spiral shaped eye on his forehead._**

" ** _Who are you?" Sasuke asked instantly on the defensive even though he was in no position to defend himself if the man was to attack. He couldn't feel his own chakra and the man had two rinnegan eyes; He was completely outclassed._**

" ** _I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki, but you would probably know me better as the Sage of Six Paths" the man said causing Sasuke's eyes to widen._**

" ** _I know it's hard to believe, but the reason I brought you here is because you're kind of my son…" Sasuke's eyes widened even more in disbelief._**

" ** _You're lying!" Sasuke interrupted narrowing his eyes at the Sage._**

"… ** _Quiet you didn't let me finish!" Hagoromo snapped irritably causing Sasuke to quiet down even though there was still a scowl on his face._**

" ** _As I was saying you are kind of my son. Not really you Sasuke-kun, but you're chakra. You see it's a long story" Hagoromo said as he began to tell Sasuke the story of his children Indra and Ashura._**

 ** _When the story was finished, Sasuke was staring at the man with an impassive look on his face. He was secretly amazed at the story, but he wasn't going to let Hagoromo know that._**

" ** _So you're telling me that I'm the reincarnation of your evil oldest son and that Naruto is the reincarnation of the good younger son?" Sasuke asked skeptically._**

 ** _Hagoromo nodded._**

" ** _That's basically it in an overly simplified way. It troubles me that Indra's grudge has lasted this long. Madara is an incarnate of Indra as well, and his ambition has led him to using the rinne-rebirth technique in order to come back to life. What's worse is that he managed to absorb Hashirama's chakra as well." Hagoromo said._**

" ** _Wait how does him absorbing Hashirama's chakra make things much worse?" Sasuke asked trying to keep the confusion out of his voice._**

" ** _Hashirama was the Ashura reincarnate before Naruto-kun. Since he absorbed his chakra, Madara's power now rivals mine" Hagoromo explained._**

' ** _Dammit that doesn't sound good. So we're basically up against another Sage of the Six Paths' Sasuke grumbled to himself._**

 ** _Hagoromo sighed._**

" ** _I feel as though this whole thing is my fault. I entrusted everything to Ashura with the hopes that Indra would help him. I shouldn't have favored one son over the other. Indra felt slighted and attacked his own brother in rage, that's what started this whole cycle. I'm trusting you to end this cycle of violence" the sage said._**

" ** _What do you expect me to do" Sasuke asked impassively._**

" ** _Before I answer that, I want you to answer my questions. What are your goals for after the war if you win and what is your relationship with Naruto?" Hagoromo asked._**

 ** _Sasuke looked away in thought. He knew what he wanted to do at the conclusion of the war, but he wasn't sure about the second question. After remaining in thought for a few moments he turned back to Hagoromo._**

" ** _After the war, I'm going to destroy the current Kage and take over the shinobi world. I'll unite all shinobi as they will share a mutual hatred for me. There will never be another Itachi. As far as my relationship with the Idiot… I view him as my best friend, but he is also someone that I need to get rid of if I'm going to achieve my goal" Sasuke said._**

 ** _Hagoromo thought over Sasuke's answer before he nodded his head._**

" ** _I understand. Well instead of sending you back to this war, I'm going to send you back in time. You'll have a chance to re-live your life up to this point. I'm tired of my son's vendetta towards one another so I'm holding you responsible for ending it. You'll go back to the day after the Uchiha Massacre. You'll maintain all of your memories and as much of your power as your 7 year old body can sustain" Hagoromo said._**

 ** _Sasuke looked in surprise before he smirked evilly. Noticing the look Sasuke had on his face Hagoromo continued._**

" ** _Naruto-kun will also retain his power as well to keep you in check if necessary, however he will not have the memories of this life so you'll be responsible for making sure he goes down the right path."_**

 ** _Sasuke grumbled at the fact that Naruto will be near his level as a child, but overall it sounded like a pretty good deal. Even if he had to deal with the loser all over again._**

" ** _Tch, whatever he'll still be a loser" Sasuke said nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders._**

 ** _Hagoromo rolled his eyes at Sasuke's attitude, but figured that Sasuke was going to do what was right. At least that's what he hoped for._**

" ** _Alright Sasuke-kun are you ready to be sent back?" Hagoromo asked._**

 ** _Sasuke gave a barely noticeable nod but Hagoromo saw it. Summoning up the remainder of his Chakra; Hagoromo started the jutsu that would send Sasuke back in time._**

" ** _Remember Sasuke-kun, the Indra/Ashura feud has to end with you and Naruto-kun if you want to survive past this age and avoid the war" Hagoromo warned as he finished the preparations for the jutsu._**

 ** _With a final nod, Hagoromo fired the Jutsu at Sasuke and he was returned to the past._**

 **End Flashback**

He still couldn't believe that he had that conversation. Once he was fully awake he could instantly smell the stench of blood. He got up and realized that his parent's dead bodies were laying right next to him.

Sasuke felt his Sharingan activate instantly as tears fell down his face. He was really sent back to the day after the massacre. That means that everyone's bodies would still be littered around the compound. Sasuke shuddered at the thought and felt a hot rage burn through him for a moment, but he reminded himself that it was either them or the whole village, besides he still had Itachi. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Itachi…" he said realizing that he had a chance to save his brother and clear his name. Rebuilding the clan would be easier with two people and Sasuke felt genuine regret after killing his brother. He promised himself that Itachi wouldn't die for someone else's sins this time around.

Danzo, however, he was definitely going to die a painful death if Sasuke had anything to say about it. Sasuke gauged his chakra reserves to see how much power he retained from the trip and he was satisfied to see that he had kept quite a bit. He would easily be Jonin level.

' ** _Heh. I'm going to tear Kakashi's mask off when we do the Bell Test'_** Sasuke thought smugly.

He got up and decided he should go to the Hokage's office. He had to inform the 3rd Hokage of the situation even though Sasuke knew that he already knew about it. He gave one last sad look at his mother and father's corpses before leaving the compound.

XxXxXx

When he arrived at the office, the 3rd Hokage looked at him with surprise etched in his features.

"Sasuke-kun you activated your Sharingan!" Hiruzen said.

' ** _Oops I forgot to deactivate it. Oh well, Itachi unlocked it at a young age and considering what just happened it'll seem normal that mine would activate, but that's not what I came here for'_** Sasuke thought.

"I don't care about any of that! My family has been slaughtered. They're all dead!" Sasuke snapped as he assessed Hiruzen's face for any sign of guilt.

' ** _I'll admit that he's good at hiding his guilt. If I wasn't trained by Orochimaru all those years then I would've never been able to catch that little sparkle in his eyes'_** Sasuke thought mildly impressed with the 3rd Hokage.

"It had to be Itachi. He left the village last night. He just suddenly quit the Anbu and stormed out of my office. I had no idea he'd go as far as destroying his own clan. You're lucky to be alive Sasuke-kun, but I'm glad you are" Hiruzen said with a genuine smile on his face.

Sasuke could see how his previous 7 year old self would've believed all the words this man said. He sounded like he genuinely cared for him and there was no hint of deception in his voice at all.

"I'll have people over immediately to clean out the area… Would you like to still live there or go to an orphanage?" Hiruzen asked.

"I'm living in my house, just hurry and clean it up" Sasuke said leaving without being dismissed.

XxXxXx

After leaving the Hokage's office, Sasuke walked to his favorite pier over the lake to think more about what he was going to do with his new life. News of the massacre traveled fast in Konoha so he needed a break from the looks of pity he was receiving by the villagers. He was obviously going to train, he still needed more power in order to kill Danzo but that was his only real ambition at the moment.

' ** _I guess I can be more social so that I can find potential females for clan restoration purposes'_** Sasuke thought looking out towards the water. That's when he heard shuffling behind him.

He turned to see a young Naruto staring at him from on top of a hill. He stared back and the two maintained eye contact for what felt like a few minutes before Sasuke motioned for Naruto to come sit next to him.

Naruto looked at the other boy in surprise before smiling and racing down the hill and taking a seat next to the other boy. They sat in silence for a few moments before it was predictably broken by Naruto.

"Hey I'm Naruto" Naruto said enthusiastically with a large smile and shining blue eyes.

Sasuke looked at his best friends face and rolled his eyes resisting the urge to smile back at the boy.

"Idiot. I know your name. We're in the same academy class" Sasuke replied sarcastically with a smirk on his face.

"You do?" Naruto asked smiling before his face soured "Wait who are you calling an idiot you Bastard" Naruto yelled furiously.

Sasuke chuckled to himself ' ** _I guess some things just don't ever change.'_**

"Well anyway I appreciate you for calling me down here. I don't really have a lot of friends to spend time with you know?" Naruto said smiling sadly looking toward the setting sun.

Sasuke briefly looked at Naruto. ' ** _I wonder if he knows how powerful he is… nah probably not he's an idiot. It'll probably take him years to figure it out'_** Sasuke thought as he turned his head back towards the water.

The two continued to look at the setting sun together. When the sun set the two boys departed while agreeing to meet at the academy the next day.

XxXxXx

' ** _The Loser's actually not that bad when he's not speaking. He was actually tolerable tonight… maybe I can end the cycle of hate between our ancestors. Tomorrow I'll ask him if he wants to move into the Uchiha District with me. Kami knows it's better than whatever dump he calls home at this point'_** Sasuke thought after Naruto disappeared from sight.

While Sasuke was walking towards the Uchiha District he noticed a shadowy figure creeping towards the Hyuuga Compund. Letting his curiosity get the better of him he followed the figure.

When Sasuke arrived he noticed that there was a girl in the man's hands and he was covering her mouth. He was wearing a Kumogakure headband. Sasuke masked his chakra and hid in the tree above the man while listening to what he was telling the girl.

"Your eyes will benefit us better little heiress. You might as well just come along nicely. The more you struggle the slower your death will be" The man said laughing evilly.

Sasuke recognized the girl as Hinata Hyuuga. The only academy girl that didn't have a giant crush on him. They hardly knew each other in his past life, but the more he looked at her, the more he wanted to get to know her. That meant that saving her was common sense.

Sasuke dropped down from the tree startling both the Kumo shinobi and Hinata. When the Kumo ninja realized that it was just a kid he chuckled to himself.

"You're at the wrong place at the wrong time kid and judging by your attire it seems that you're an Uchiha. Shame about what happened to your clan but it looks like I just hit a 2 for 1 special on Dojutsu's" The man said while advancing towards Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked at the idiot that thought that he was going to allow himself to be kidnapped.

' ** _Sasuke-kun… Run'_** Hinata thought, since her mouth was covered. She was upset that she couldn't voice her thoughts. Hinata closed her eyes not wanting to see her classmate get hurt by the Kumo ninja.

When she felt that the man's hand dropped from her mouth she opened her eyes and saw that the Kumo shinobi's body was unconscious on the ground. She looked up to see that Sasuke's eyes were blood red but they quickly returned to their normal black color as he looked at Hinata.

The two held eye contact for a moment before Hinata turned away blushing. ' ** _His eyes are so intense'_** she thought to herself. She was going to turn to look at Sasuke again, but she noticed that her view was blocked by her Father and Uncle.

Hiashi looked at the two children and the unconscious Kumo ninja. Hizashi mimicked his brother's actions. Both of them had their assumptions about what had happened, but they asked anyway.

"What happened here Hinata?" Hiashi asked his oldest daughter.

"A-Ano he t-tried to k-kidnap m-me but, S-Sasuke-k-kun saved me" Hinata explained shocking the two brothers.

They both turned to Sasuke simultaneously with twin looks of surprise and the Uchiha instantly realized his mistake.

' ** _Dammit. I'm 7 years old I'm not supposed to be able to take down a Kumogakure Jonin. They'll suspect something for sure'_** Sasuke thought mentally berating himself for his lack of critical thinking.

Hizashi walked over to the still Kumo ninja and checked his pulse. His heart was beating sporadically signifying that he was still alive.

"What did you do to him" Hizashi asked.

"I put him into a Genjutsu with my Sharingan" Sasuke replied causally.

The two older ninjas looked at the young Uchiha with mouths wide open. They were quickly closed, however, as both were part of a regal clan.

"Hizashi grab the man, we're going to the Hokage's office. Kids you're coming with us" Hiashi said with the authority of a Hyuuga clan head.

"I'm also bringing Neji" Hizashi said.

Hiashi nodded "Yes good thinking he is going to be Hinata's protector, so he must learn how to do his job now. Next time this Uchiha boy might not be around to save her."

"His name is S-Sasuke-kun" Hinata corrected her father barely stuttering surprising both Hyuuga's and Sasuke himself.

"Yes well come on Hinata and Sasuke. Hizashi get Neji and meet us there immediately."

"Yes Hiashi-sama" Hizashi said as he grabbed the man's body and disappeared.

Hiashi grabbed Hinata's hand as he led her towards the Hokage Tower. He turned back to see that Sasuke had yet to move and was staring at Hinata who was still a cherry red color from her outburst.

"Do I have to hold your hand as well child?" Hiashi asked raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"Of course not! I'm just tired that's all" Sasuke lied. Truthfully he had been wondering why Hinata had bothered to correct her father. Sasuke quickly caught up to them and the three made their way to the Hokage's tower together.

XxXxXx

Hiruzen wasn't surprised by many things, but the presence of Hizashi, Hiashi, Hinata and Neji Hyuuga together with Sasuke Uchiha surprised the old man. Oh and the fact that the man who signed the PEACE TREATY hours prior was now unconscious in his office. Hiruzen demanded answers.

"What happened here?" Hiruzen asked not at all calm.

"He tried to kidnap Hinata and Sasuke stopped him. He is now trapped in a Genjutsu" Hiashi explained.

"WHAT!?" Hiruzen said shocked. He looked at Sasuke with unconcealed surprise on his face.

"This is a Jonin Level ninja Sasuke-kun. How did you manage to trap him in a Genjutsu" Hiruzen asked.

"I saw him trying to take Hinata, so I got mad and used my Sharingan on him" Sasuke said shrugging his shoulders making the adults sweat drop.

' ** _Itachi your brother is a genius just like you'_** Hiruzen thought to himself.

"Well I need you to release him from your Genjutsu. We need to question him" Hiruzen said.

' ** _Might as well be cooperative'_** Sasuke thought has he shrugged again and activated his Sharingan. He lifted the man up to look him in his eye as he dropped his Genjutsu leaving the man panting heavily in the middle of the Hokage's office.

The Kumo ninja looked around his surroundings with his face paling, but when his eyes got to Sasuke he shrieked and backed away from him as fast he could.

This caused Hinata and Neji to laugh and Sasuke to give the man an evil smirk. Hiashi and Hizashi quickly blocked the man's chakra points and pinned him down.

"Mind explaining what you were doing with the Hyuuga Heiress?" Hiruzen asked the restrained ninja.

"I was simply walking with her when I was brutally attacked by that monster" The shinobi said pointing at Sasuke.

"You weren't supposed to be anywhere near Hinata-sama at all so that excuse is invalid, besides this 'monster' is only 7 years old. I doubt that he'd attack anyone for no reason" Hizashi said unamused.

' ** _Oh I'd definitely attack someone for no reason, but they don't need to know that'_** Sasuke thought to himself.

The Kumo ninja paled at Hizashi's reasoning.

"Well you see… what happened was…" He stuttered.

"Enough. We're sending you back to your village where you will likely be executed. Normally we would do it here, but relations with Kumogakure are shaky at best at the moment. If you were executed here it could easily lead to a war. I'll send a letter to the Raikage immediately and have Genma and Hayate escort you to the land of lightning after Ibiki probes your mind" Hiruzen said authoritatively ending the Kumo ninja's terrible excuses.

"Alright kids wait outside the office while the adults handle this" Hiashi says.

Sasuke walked out without another word. Hinata and Neji bow to the adults before following Sasuke out the room. Sasuke was going to go home to go to sleep, he technically still had to attend the academy even though he was around high Jonin level in terms of power.

"Hey Uchiha" a voice said stopping him.

"I-Its Sasuke-kun. N-Neji-nii-san" Hinata said once again correcting a family member and shocking Neji and Sasuke alike.

"Of course Hinata-sama. Sasuke thank you for saving Hinata-sama's life today. I am greatly indebted to you" Neji said giving Sasuke a slight bow.

Sasuke slightly remembered Neji from his past life. He was the strong, but arrogant Hyuuga that Naruto beat in the first round of the Chunin Exams. Sasuke wasn't sure, but he thought that Neji died in the war. He wasn't around when he showed up on the battlefield, so that was the only possible conclusion. He'd have to train with him. Fighting against a Taijutsu specialist with the Gentle Fist technique will prove invaluable in his development.

"It's no problem Neji, but to repay your debt I want to train with you. Come by the Uchiha District whenever you want to spar or throw kunai or something. I'll be there" Sasuke was about the leave the shocked Neji after saying that when his eyes caught Hinata's for a brief second.

Sasuke turned fully to the Hyuuga Heiress and began to close the distance between them with her face growing a darker shade of red with every step he took. He finally stopped right in front of her and when she turned her head away, he gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

He didn't know what possessed him to do something so reckless, but he couldn't help himself. He felt Neji glaring at him, but he chose to ignore the look and stared into Hinata's white eyes before speaking.

"I want you to come train too, after our time in the academy tomorrow you should come over with me. We can all get strong together…That is if you want to?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nervously looked at Neji and when he nodded she turned back to look into Sasuke's eyes before speaking.

"Okay Sasuke-kun" she said giving him a small smile.

Sasuke allowed a smirk to form on his face at her lack of stuttering unknowingly causing Hinata to blush even further.

"Great! See you tomorrow Hinata…chan" Sasuke said teasingly but his smirk was immediately replaced with a look of worry when he realized that Hinata had passed out.

Catching her quickly before she could fall Sasuke looked at Neji in confusion. Neji just chuckled.

"Don't worry she does that when she's nervous or flustered but she'll be fine. See you tomorrow after the academy Uchiha" Neji said with a smirk disregarding what Hinata told him earlier.

"Hn" Sasuke said in a dismissive tone. He gave the unconscious Hinata one more look before he left the Hokage Tower and went home.

When he was laying down, Sasuke thought over the events that had just transpired.

' ** _Who knew the Hyuuga had such a crisis right after the Uchiha did? I wonder how they handled that last time. That could've been a messy situation if I didn't step in'_** Sasuke thought as he drifted to sleep unaware that he had just inadvertently saved the life of Hizashi Hyuuga.

XxXxXx

Sasuke arrived at the academy early the next morning as he remembered doing when he was younger, but was surprised to see that someone was already in the classroom. When he got closer he realized that it was Hinata sitting by herself in the farthest corner in the room.

' ** _No wonder I didn't notice her last time. She's just sitting there in the corner quiet. I'll just sit next to her so I don't have to worry about fan girls fighting over who gets to sit next to me'_** Sasuke thought heading over to sit next to Hinata.

When Hinata noticed that Sasuke was walking towards her; her face instantly turned red but she gave him a small smile.

"M-Morning S-Sasuke-kun" Hinata said looking at Sasuke as he took the seat right next to her.

"Hn" was all that Sasuke said as he sat there looking at Hinata intently.

Hinata was starting to blush furiously at Sasuke's continued scrutiny of her, but she was determined not to turn away and look weak. After a few more moments of staring Sasuke began to speak.

"I don't like it when you stutter" Sasuke said casually.

Hinata was surprised that Sasuke initiated this topic of conversation with her, but she replied honestly.

"A-Ano I only s-stutter w-when I'm n-nervous" Hinata said looking away.

Sasuke was having none of it. He grabbed Hinata's face gently and made her face him.

"Well stop it. You never have to be nervous around me" Sasuke said surprising both Hinata and himself.

Hinata was blushing madly. Sasuke had now touched her face twice in the past two days. That was more contact than even her father made with her.

"Okay" Hinata said staring at Sasuke obsidian eyes.

The two continued staring at each other until a loud chorus of 'Sasuke-kun' was heard. Instantly realizing who made that sound Sasuke's eyes widened in fear. Suddenly the rest of the females of the class showed up and swarmed Sasuke. Hinata giggled as she watched Sasuke try to break his arms free from the herd of fan girls although she was worried about him.

"Let him go Ino-Pig! I got here first so you're just going to have to sit somewhere else" Sakura yelled at Ino pulling on Sasuke's left elbow.

"No chance Billboard-brow! Besides I'm prettier than you so he'd rather sit with me anyway" Ino responded hotly pulling on his right elbow as the two stared at each other with fire in their eyes.

"How troublesome, it's too early in the morning for all this yelling" Shikamaru said yawning while he walked into the class with Choji hot on his heels eating from his favorite brand of chips.

"SHUT UP SHIKAMARU" Ino yelled at the lazy Nara while still trying to pull on Sasuke.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes as he and Choji sat in the middle of the classroom.

The next to arrive was Kiba and his dog Akamaru. He smirked at the scene before ignoring it completely as he played with his dog.

Finally Naruto came in and announced his arrival.

"THE NEXT HOKAGE IS HERE! BELIEVE IT" Naruto shouted causing everyone to look at him.

"Yeah right you're a loser" A random fan girl said sneering at Naruto causing more people to throw insults at him. Sasuke saw Naruto's face falter for half a second before a bright smile showed.

"I don't care what you people say I know I'm going to be Hokage" Naruto said.

Sasuke smirked to himself ' ** _That's right Loser don't let these people tell you what you can't be. You're the second strongest person in this class right now so don't let them push you around'_** Sasuke thought.

Having enough he snatched away from all the fan girls pushing them away from him.

"Loser" he greeted Naruto.

"Bastard" Naruto said back smiling.

Sasuke motioned for Naruto to come sit next to him which the blond happily agreed to do surprising everyone in the room.

Sasuke sat there in between Naruto and Hinata with a barely noticeable look of comfort on his face as he sat in between the only two people in the room that he could tolerate. Sasuke looked at Naruto noticing that he was spaced out.

"Hey Loser? What you stressing your mind thinking about?" Sasuke asked mockingly noticing that his best friend was looking at their ex-teammate in his last life.

"Nothing Sasuke-teme! Just mind your business" Naruto said tearing his eyes away from Sakura with a furious blush on his face.

Sasuke shrugged not really caring what had him flustered. That's when he remembered something important.

"Hinata and I are training at my compound after class today. You interested in coming along? You can train too if you want, but… you are a loser" Sasuke asked teasing even though Naruto didn't seem to notice it and started to nod vigorously.

Hinata looked at Sasuke surprised at his offer. She didn't know that he and Naruto had known each other that well. She had a sort of admiration for Naruto after he tried to protect her from bullies when they were younger. She had thought that it was love, but she was beginning to feel otherwise when she looked at Sasuke.

"Hinata you've been staring at me for the past 3 minutes… see something you like?" Sasuke asked smirking.

Hinata burned a deep crimson before turning quickly to look out the window. Her blush deepened when she heard Sasuke laugh behind her. Naruto thought it would be a good time to intervene to save the girl from embarrassment.

"Oi Hinata-chan isn't like your stupid fan girls Bastard. Don't tease her like that you know" Naruto said.

Sasuke sneered at the boy before allowing a smirk to adorn his features as he turned to look at Hinata who could clearly hear the conversation.

"You're right Loser, Hinata's **much** more enjoyable to talk too than any of these other girls. In fact, that's why I'm going to be spending as much time as possible with her from now on" Sasuke said just loud enough for everyone in the class to hear.

Instantly chaos erupted around the classroom as everyone reacted to Sasuke's statement.

Naruto and Kiba instantly began teasing Sasuke about having a crush.

Shino, who nobody noticed at this point, slightly shifted his glasses upward.

Ino and Sakura, along with the rest of the females in the class, were crying and screaming reasons why Sasuke should like them instead of Hinata.

Shikamaru was woken up by the commotion and was muttering something about how troublesome crushes were.

Choji was happily munching on his chips seemingly unaware of Sasuke's big announcement.

Sasuke was glaring at Naruto and Kiba who were taunting him for moment before he looked towards Hinata to gauge her reaction.

Hinata, of course, had fainted.

This is the scene that Iruka stumbled into when he walked into the class. He looked around at the mayhem for a brief moment before coughing loudly gaining the attention of kids in the class.

"Alright kids let's get started" Iruka said after waking Hinata, causing everyone to take their seats and having the attention spans of 7 year old kids, they abandoned the thought of Sasuke's words.

XxXxXx

After class, Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto walked out together towards the Uchiha District training grounds. When they arrived they noticed that Neji was already there throwing kunai at the targets. Realizing that he was no longer alone, the Hyuuga prodigy turned to the other 3 kids.

He gave Hinata a bow, he nodded at Sasuke and raised an eyebrow to Naruto.

"Who's the kid?" Neji asked pointing at Naruto.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki the next Hokage. Believe It! Who are you" Naruto exclaimed.

"The next Hokage? You must be delusional if you think that's your destiny… Oh and Neji Hyuuga" Neji said arrogantly crossing his arms.

Naruto was fuming.

"What does destiny have to do with me becoming Hokage? I'm going to do it because I'm going to work towards it" Naruto said waving his arms around.

Neji just scoffed but didn't comment instead he addressed Sasuke.

"What are we doing today Uchiha?" Neji asked trying not to notice the slightly peeved look Hinata gave him.

"We're going to focus on Chakra Control" Sasuke said as he walked up a tree impressing the other kids.

"WOAH. SASUKE-TEME HOW'D YOU DO THAT" Naruto shouted.

"That's c-cool Sasuke-kun" Hinata said trying her best not to stutter.

"Hmph" Neji said trying not to let anyone see impressed he was.

Sasuke smirked at the look on their faces and began explaining in the simplest way possible to his friends.

Because of their Hyuuga training, Neji and Hinata didn't have much trouble learning how to walk up the tree and instead was focused trying to walk on water as they stood on the pond near the training ground. Naruto was still falling every time he got half way up the tree.

Sasuke was standing on the pond next to Hinata with one hand gently on her arm. Every time she lost focus and was about to fall in the pond; Sasuke grabbed her so she wouldn't get more than her ankles wet. Neji, however, did not have the luxury of Sasuke helping him as the Hyuuga prodigy was soaking wet from his repeated dips into the pond.

Everyone agreed to end the training session when it was around dinner time. By that time Neji had mastered standing and walking on water and Sasuke had given Neji some of his clothes to change into. Naruto had made it all the way up the tree so he was beginning to learn how to stand on water; he also had dry clothes that Sasuke gave him. Hinata could stand on water fine, but hadn't quite gotten the hang of walking on water, she was still completely dry.

They agreed to meet the next day after academy classes as Neji and Hinata left walking towards the Hyuuga Compound. Naruto began to leave too until he was stopped by Sasuke.

"Where do you live Loser?" Sasuke asked trying to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

"In an abandoned building near the academy. Why?" Naruto asked confused at the sudden conversation.

"I have space here. So tomorrow after training we'll get your stuff and bring it over here" Sasuke demanded more than asked if Naruto wanted to live with him.

Naruto let out a bright smile and ran over to hug Sasuke. Sasuke stiffened, but didn't push Naruto off.

"That'll be awesome Sasuke-teme it'll be like we're brothers or something" Naruto said happily.

' ** _Technically we kind of are brothers, in a way… at least our chakra? Ugh I don't want to think about this'_** Sasuke thought to himself before pushing Naruto off.

"Hn whatever. Just don't expect me to eat Ramen every night" Sasuke said.

"How'd you know I eat Ramen every night" Naruto asked confused.

Sasuke sweat dropped knowing that this Naruto hasn't told him that yet.

"I can smell it on you" Sasuke said hoping that he'd buy it.

Of course, Naruto did buy Sasuke's excuse and yelled something about Sasuke smelling like burned wood before he went home as well promising to see Sasuke tomorrow at the academy.

Sasuke lay down staring up at his ceiling thinking over the past few days. The beginning of his new life. He and Naruto are close as ever and he gained two new friends in Hinata and Neji.

Sasuke thought that it was nice to have friends though he would never admit it out loud. He also decided that he won't go out of his way to make any more friends, he was fine with just having three.

He also reflected on the fact that he was developing a little kid crush on Hinata, though he preferred woman with long hair. He decided to say something about that to her the next day so she might grow it out sooner than she had in his original life.

' ** _Well I'm already doing better than I was in my old life. I have friends, and a possible Uchiha Matriarch. Now all I need to do is get strong enough to bring Itachi back and clear his name then I'll have everything I ever wanted'_** Sasuke thought as he drifted to sleep ready to make the most of his new life.

 **TBC**

 **Hello everybody, this is my first attempt at a Naruto Fic, I've always wanted to write one, but I couldn't think of any ideas at first. Please Read and Review and let me know how you feel about it. Criticism is welcome, it only makes my writing better :-) –Dishon 3**


	2. Academy Graduation

**Chapter 2**

5 years have passed since Sasuke had returned to the past. He spent all his time with either Naruto, Hinata or Neji. Most of the time all four of them were either training in the Uchiha District or walking around the town, but around a year ago they were starting to be allowed to hang around the Hyuuga Compound.

They were only permitted to step foot in the Branch house, but besides that Hiashi allowed them almost total freedom within Hyuuga grounds. Hiashi was hesitant to allow it at first because of Naruto's background with vandalism and his tendency to be unnecessarily loud, but after Sasuke and Neji personally promised to keep Naruto in check, Hiashi reluctantly agreed.

The effect that the 4 friends had on each other was clearly visible to anyone who could see.

Neji had become less stoic and often laughed openly whenever Naruto did something stupid, and he would be visibly excited whenever Sasuke or Naruto would come over to hang out or train. The once quiet Hyuuga was now more relaxed and although he still believed that everything happens for a reason; he no longer believed that destiny controlled his life. His relationship with Hinata was also great. They often trained together under the supervision of their fathers who would nod in approval. He was seen as the prodigy of his clan even though he was from the Branch house.

Naruto had stopped terrorizing the village as a result of gaining friends. He only vandalized the Hokage Mountain one time since moving in with Sasuke. The two fought like cats and dogs, but everyone knew that they really cared for each other.

Naruto and Neji treated each other as annoyances whenever they were around Hinata and Sasuke, but when they're alone, they would work together to secretly spy on Sasuke and Hinata. Neji claimed that it was because he was Hinata's sworn protecter, but Naruto knew the truth. The Hyuuga was just as curious and childish as he was and Naruto loved having a fellow spy.

Naruto and Hinata were also really close, but every time he got too physical with her, either Sasuke or Neji would give him a glare making him back off. He viewed Hinata as a little sister and he was almost as protective of her as Sasuke and Neji.

Hinata had developed the most out of everyone. She never stuttered around her friends and only barely stuttered around everyone else. Her improvement in power also made her father proud of her. He never said it vocally, but the small looks of pride in his eyes spoke volumes to Hinata. She asserted herself more thanks to Sasuke's influence and showed the signs of being a great heiress even though she was only 12. She also grew her hair out after Sasuke hinted at liking girls with long hair, and it was now down her back. Hinata also trained with her sister Hanabi who was showing the early signs of being a prodigy like Neji. Hanabi never won a match against Hinata, but she still showed that she's capable.

Hinata loved having friends that she could talk to about anything. She and Neji had formed a strong sibling bond even though Neji was fiercely overprotective of her. Hinata couldn't even cough around Neji without him thinking something was wrong. He never expressed his care for her verbally, but after spending the past 5 years with him and Sasuke, she has mastered understanding their grunts and glares. She knew that he really cared for her, and she was really grateful for him.

Naruto and Hinata were the best of friends. Naruto was the one that taught Hinata to stop being afraid of physical contact. During the beginning part of their friendship, Naruto's hugs had caused Hinata to faint plenty of times, but eventually Hinata got used to it and she could now take hugs from him with only a smalll blush on her face. They had a weird relationship, but they viewed each other as siblings.

Hinata also had a weird relationship with Sasuke. The two were always seen around each other doing various activities. Sasuke often hovered around Hinata whenever people tried to tease her and Hinata would grab Sasuke's hand whenever they noticed his fan girls around. Naruto and Neji often teased the two, but Hinata didn't really mind. She knew that she and Sasuke acted like they were a couple, but she never asked him about what their relationship was. She was far too nervous.

Sasuke had spent the last 5 years creating bonds that he would've tried to destroy in his previous life. Neji had been an unexpected one, but he was glad he had formed it. It was nice talking to another genius, and Neji was a determined fighter. Naruto may have been stronger, but Neji had always given him a better fight. ' _ **Mostly because the loser still hasn't realized that he has all the power of a controlled jinchuuriki'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Naruto was the same Naruto that he had known in his past life for the most part. It seemed that he and Naruto had a sort of telekinetic bond at times, as they could always tell what the other was thinking. They lived together, and although Sasuke regretted this decision at times, especially when Naruto found out he could make shadow clones, he admitted that it was nice having someone living with him.

Hinata was another bond that was unexpected, but he was happy he made it. In Sasuke's eyes she was perfect. She wasn't loud and didn't have to talk all the time to be comfortable. She stopped stuttering and learned how to glare from the combined efforts of him and Neji. She was also strong enough to hold her own and had the grace of an heiress. She was easily the person that he liked the most.

' _ **And it doesn't hurt that she's also very beautiful'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Currently Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata were sitting in the academy for their final assignment before they could become Genin.

Neji, being older than them, graduated the year before and was currently on a D-ranked mission with his team.

"Alright class, in order to graduate you all have to create 3 clones of yourself" Iruka said.

"ONLY 3? THAT'S TOO EASY, HOW ABOUT 100!" Naruto shouted causing everyone to look at him in shock and Sasuke to smack him in the back of the head.

"Hey why'd you do that Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked rubbing his head.

"Idiot not everyone can make hundreds of clones at once. You better not show off Loser, make your 3 shadow clones and graduate. Don't make anymore than you have too or you'll be giving away our training secrets" Sasuke said quiet enough so that only Naruto and Hinata could hear.

"Aww really can't I make like 20?" Naruto said looking at Hinata knowing that she could get Sasuke to agree to anything.

Hinata smiled softly at Naruto knowing that he was trying to get her to change Sasuke's mind. Unfortunately for Naruto, Hinata agreed with Sasuke and shook her head no.

"Fine" Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto Uzumaki it's your turn" Iruka said smiling at Naruto for his bold outburst. Iruka wasn't even sure if Naruto could make 1 clone, nevermind 100.

Naruto got out of his seat ignoring the stern look that Sasuke gave him. He made the hand signs necessary for his Shadow Clone Jutsu and 3 perfect clones of Naruto appeared out of the smoke in various poses. Iruka gave a surprised look to Naruto before smiling warmly and handing him his headband signifying that he had passed.

Naruto looked up to see Hinata smiling brightly at him in congratulations and Sasuke even gave him a small smirk. Naruto beamed back at the two as he returned back to his seat showing off his headband.

"Sasuke Uchiha your turn, Hinata you're next so be ready" Iruka announced.

Hinata and Naruto both told Sasuke good luck even though they knew he didn't need it. He performed the signs and the smoke cleared revealing 4 clones of Sasuke all smirking at Naruto who was visibly upset. When Sasuke returned to his seat with his headband, Naruto instantly complained.

"You Bastard! I thought you said you'd only make 3?" Naruto whispered.

"No I said that you should only make 3. I said nothing about how many I'd make" Sasuke whispered back smirking. Naruto was fuming.

"Why did you have to make more than me? You know that I can make more than you" Naruto said whining.

"I had to show everyone that I was better than you, and stop whining because it won't change anything" Sasuke said shrugging.

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU BASTARD" Naruto shouted standing up, now ready to fight to prove his best friend wrong.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as if to say 'bring it on loser.'

Both of them were interrupted by the shout of Iruka.

"HINATA YOU CAN ALREADY MAKE 5 CLONES!?" He said incredulously.

Hearing this, both Sasuke and Naruto turned to Hinata with twin looks of surprise on their faces. Hinata simply gave them both a sweet, seemingly innocent smile.

"Wow that's even more than Sasuke-kun can make" one of the girls in the class said clearly impressed.

"Well she is the Hyuuga Heiress, what'd you expect" a Hyuuga from the branch family said.

Hinata returned to her seat next to Sasuke acting as if she was unaware of the faces they were giving her.

"Why'd you do that Hinata-chan?" This time it was Sasuke whining though he'd never admit to it.

"You were teasing Naruto-kun about being superior. It was only fair" Hinata responded earning a giant hug from Naruto which made Hinata blush a little.

"Awww look Bastard. Your girlfriend likes me better than you" Naruto said teasingly. Hinata giggled a little until she saw the expression on Sasuke's face.

Naruto and Hinata both froze at the look of realization and pain that flashed across his face. Unbeknownst to either of them, Naruto's statement triggered a nearly forgotten memory from his last life.

 **Sasuke Flashback**

 _ **Sasuke was walking away from Naruto and Sakura's argument with his hands in his pockets. He was thoroughly annoyed with his two loud teammates always arguing and he was not going to stay around for it anymore. Then as he passed a large pole he noticed a short figure peaking around at Naruto and Sakura.**_

 _ **It was the little Hyuuga girl from the academy. Sasuke had never noticed her and that was a good thing. It meant that she wasn't one of his fan girls and wasn't annoying. Now that he was looking at her, he had to admit that she was kinda cute. He wondered what she was doing.**_

 _ **Letting his curiosity get the best of him he walked over to the girl. He stood next to her unnoticed for a few moments before he saw her stiffen and turn towards him. The blush left her cheeks as she faced him, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.**_

" _ **U-Uchiha-s-san h-hello" Hinata said. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the stuttering. He viewed it as weak.**_

" _ **Stop stuttering Hyuuga. Now what are you doing spying on my teammates. Tell me now" Sasuke demanded.**_

 _ **Hinata blushed and whispered something that Sasuke had trouble hearing. Sasuke was now annoyed.**_

" _ **Speak up now" Sasuke commanded causing Hinata to jump.**_

" _ **I-I was j-just s-seeing what N-Naruto-k-kun was d-doing" Hinata said with her face turning a darker shade of red than he thought was possible.**_

" _ **Why do you care what that loser's doing" Sasuke asked confused.**_

" _ **A-Ano he's n-not a loser" Hinata responded back with fire in her pale eyes.**_

 _ **Sasuke was a bright kid so he could easily put 2 and 2 together. Hinata was a Naruto fan girl. Sasuke didn't know what to say about this newly discovered information so he just turned and left the Hyuuga to do her staring.**_

 _ **The next couple of weeks Sasuke began to notice that Hinata was always wherever Naruto was, staring at him without being noticed. He was upset that the only civilized girl in his age group was in love with Naruto instead of him, but he wouldn't complain, he had a clan to avenge.**_

 _ **With that thought in mind he began to ignore Hinata's existence again, abandoning all emotion aside from anger and vengeance.**_

 **End of Flashback**

Sasuke was so caught up in his long forgotten memory that he didn't notice the looks Hinata and Naruto were giving him. He stayed still until Naruto placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Sasuke I didn't mean that. It was just a joke you know. Don't be upset" Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with an emotionless face, then he looked at Hinata who was looking at him with unshed tears and a worried face. Sasuke turned away instantly so they couldn't see any emotion on his face.

"Hn. Whatever" Sasuke told Naruto in a deadpanned voice before leaving his seat and walking out of the door.

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other worriedly.

"I'll go get him. You stay here" Hinata said getting up. After she saw Naruto nod his agreement, she ran after Sasuke.

XxXxXx

' _ **Dammit did I mess up our relationship already? I remember she liked Naruto in his past life. Is taking her from him really the right thing to do? What if that causes problems between Naruto and I later on? Then the cycle will start all over again… Kami this is tough I'm usually more selfish than this'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he sat on his favorite pier staring at the water.

He wasn't surprised when Hinata sat down next to him.

"Byakugan?" He asked knowingly.

"Yes. Why did you leave the classroom? We have a ceremony when everyone is done getting tested…" Hinata started. She looked down playing with her fingers before she continued talking.

"Is it b-because of what Naruto-kun said?"

Sasuke flinched, but didn't look at her or answer her question. Hinata knew that she was right. Summoning up all her courage she reached over and grabbed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke was so shocked at the action that he turned to look at Hinata with wide eyes.

"Sasuke-kun you shouldn't be jealous of Naruto-kun…" Hinata started before being interrupted by Sasuke.

"I'm not jealous of the Loser" Sasuke said unconvincingly causing Hinata to give him a small smile before she continued.

"…Naruto-kun is a very dear friend, a brother even and I do care very strongly for him. However, my feelings for you surpass that. It hurts me to see you upset. I-I.." Hinata started to stutter as she began to get nervous about how Sasuke will react to what she was going to tell him. She looked away trying to regain her courage.

Hinata felt his hand on her face as he forced her to look at him. She was surprised to see that he had a genuine smile on his face. He gave Hinata a look that let her know he understood what she was trying to say.

Hinata felt her heart swell and gave Sasuke a big hug that Sasuke actually returned. When she pulled away she noticed that Sasuke's Sharingan was activated. This worried her a little.

"Why is your Sharingan activated?" Hinata asked rubbing Sasuke's cheek.

"It activates when I feel strong emotions" Sasuke said.

"Oh? And what emotion are you feeling right now?" Hinata asked curious.

"Happiness" Sasuke answered immediately causing a bright smile to show on Hinata's face.

It was at that moment that Naruto showed up to inform them that testing was done and that the graduation ceremony was going to start soon. Sasuke still felt a small amount of guilt when looking at Naruto.

' _ **Ehh I'll just buy him Ramen or something to get this false since of guilt out of me because I'm not willing to let him have Hinata besides there is no guarantee that the other Hinata would've ended up with Naruto considering his obsession with Sakura'**_ Sasuke thought to himself after he deactivated his Sharingan.

He and Hinata walked to the academy holding hands much to the pleasure of Naruto who gave Sasuke a look that promised endless teasing. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but gave Naruto a small smirk.

XxXxXx

When the 3 arrived back at the academy they were instantly questioned by Iruka about their whereabouts. Sasuke and Hinata let Naruto do the explaining as he was the closest to Iruka and soon the 3 were on stage with the other kids in front of their parents.

Well Sasuke and Naruto didn't have any parents, but some of the Branch House Hyuuga that came for Hinata and their own kids gave them words of congratulations. Hiashi told Naruto and Sasuke that they were invited to the celebratory family dinner for Hinata.

Never being one to turn down free food, Naruto agreed and Sasuke only agreed to go because he knew that Hinata was going to be there.

Iruka dismissed the newly graduated kids after he told them to meet in the room the next day for the formation of their teams.

XxXxXx

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata walked towards the Hyuuga Compound behind Hiashi. Hiashi noticed that Sasuke and Hinata were holding hands while they were listening to Naruto babble about being one step closer to being Hokage.

Hiashi was unsure how to feel about that. He knew that his eldest and the Uchiha were close, but he wasn't sure if he wanted their relationship to develop past friendship.

Sasuke was from another noble clan, and he was incredibly powerful. Strong enough that Hiashi trusted Sasuke to protect Hinata in his absence. He was also a very bright child and would surely sire powerful children, but that was part of Hiashi's reluctance.

He didn't know what would happen if the bloodlines merged. ' _ **Would one be dominant? Would the kid have both? Would a whole new bloodline be created?'**_ Hiashi paled internally at the thought.

Hinata was also the heiress, so in order to marry Sasuke she'd have to denounce her birthright, and he wasn't sure if he wanted that. Hanabi was a prodigy, but over the past 5 years Hinata had grown exponentially.

As they entered the Compound, Hiashi cleared the thoughts from his mind. They were only 12 right now so there was really no reason to worry about things like that at the moment, besides he had to focus on Hinata's celebration.

XxXxXx

The next day, Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto made their way to the academy chatting about who'll be on their team. Well Hinata and Naruto were talking, Sasuke already knew so he was staying quiet, which wasn't out of the ordinary.

Arriving at the academy, the 3 took their normal seats next to each other still chatting about who will be on what team. Soon after Iruka came into the class with the list of teams in his hands.

"Alright everyone when your teams are annouced you have to move to sit with your teammates. Okay first team 1" Iruka said announcing the 3-man team one by one until he got to Team 7.

"Alright Team 7 consists of Naruto Uzumaki…"

Naruto jumped up and down grinning.

"…Sasuke Uchiha…"

Naruto gasped in disbelief and sent a smile at Sasuke who returned the look with a small smirk.

"…and Sakura Haruno."

"YES!" A feminine shout was heard as Sakura jumped up.

The remaining females in the class groaned in disappointment because they weren't on Sasuke's team.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura's antics knowing that she was going to do that. ' _ **She's so annoying. I hope that she grows out of that crush for me soon, or this is going to be unbearable'**_ Sasuke thought to himself while sneaking a glance at Hinata.

She had a smile on her face, but it didn't reach her eyes. He could tell that she felt left out, so Sasuke decided to change that.

Sasuke grabbed Hinata's hand causing her to look at him.

"Don't worry Hinata, even though we're not on the same team, Naruto and I will still hang out with you as often as we can. Remember I prefer you over everyone else, so I won't let anyone stop me from seeing you as much as I want to" Sasuke said honestly making Hinata give him a bright smile.

Hearing this, Naruto nodded in agreement, but he decided that he couldn't allow a golden teasing opportunity like this pass by.

"Sasuke and Hina-chan sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I" was all Naruto got to say before Sasuke shot him one of the fiercest glares he's given him. Naruto laughed nervously and stopped his teasing.

"Team 8 consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuuga" Iruka said.

Hinata looked around to see her new teammates. She had little interaction with either of the two boys, but she knew of them.

Kiba was a loud mouthed kid much like Naruto is, and he takes his dog everywhere he goes. Shino was even more quiet then Sasuke was, and always had a mysterious aura around him but Hinata, being Hinata, would try her best to form a close bond with her teammates.

After Iruka had finished announcing the rest of the teams. Everyone got up and moved to sit next to their new teammates.

Sasuke let go of Hinata's hand so that she could go sit with her new teammates. They gave each other one last look before Hinata walked to sit next to Kiba and Shino. As soon as Hinata was gone, Sakura instantly took the open seat between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun it'll be great to have you as a teammate" Sakura said barely touching his hand, but Sasuke noticed the touch and pulled his hand away as if she burned him.

"Sakura try not to touch me" Sasuke said emotionlessly.

Sakura looked at him with hurt, but it was quickly replaced with a look of annoyance when she noticed Naruto was staring at her.

"What are you looking at Naruto " Sakura asked the blond next to her.

"You, Sakura-chan. You should really stop trying to flirt with Sasuke-teme before you make Hina-chan upset. I don't want that so you should give up now" Naruto said shrugging his shoulders ignoring the look on Sakura's face.

Sasuke smirked at his best friend's words ' _ **Hn. It seems that I'm rubbing off on the Loser. He's much more blunt than the one I knew, he's also smarter…but not by much'**_ Sasuke thought to himself smugly.

Meanwhile, Hinata sat in between Kiba and Shino with a little discomfort, but she was determined to at least try to build a relationship with the two boys.

"Hello, I'm H-Hinata. I'm g-glad to be your teammate" Hinata said stuttering slightly while introducing herself.

Then the dog that Kiba always carried with him hopped out of his jacket and went to sniff Hinata. When he was satisfied he attacked Hinata, licking her furiously causing the heiress to giggle. Kiba smirked at her revealing fang like teeth.

"Akamaru likes you. I'm Kiba, nice to meet you Hinata" Kiba said. Hinata gave him a smile before turning to her other teammate who had yet to speak.

"Shino" was all he said while he adjusted his glasses.

"It's very nice to be your teammate Shino. I look forward to doing missions with you" Hinata said causing Shino to shift uncomfortably.

Kiba laughed at his new teammate before Akamaru went over and licked Shino too. Kiba and Hinata then noticed that they had a bug on their shoulders. Kiba was about to crush his when Shino stopped him.

"Don't. They're my guard beetles. Since you are my teammates now I gave you both one to show that you are under my protection" Shino explained.

Hinata smiled, touched by the gesture and Kiba just shrugged trying not to smile at his teammate.

The chatter in the class was interrupted by Iruka who had an announcement.

"Now that you've all been put into your teams you will meet your Jonin instructors. They will come pick you up from here so everyone stay" Iruka said before leaving causing chatter to erupt in the classroom once again.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were quiet, each lost in their own worlds.

Hinata and Kiba were talking while Shino listened intently.

All of them looking forward to meeting there Jonin teacher and starting the next chapter of their ninja careers.

 **TBC**

 **This concludes the 2nd chapter of 'Trying Again' thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing and giving this fic a chance. Also thank you to the guest that defended me from the troll reviewers. They don't really bother me and I even laughed at 2 of them because of how dumb they were, but thank you for that**

 **Sadie321: Thank you! And I feel like I have too because that was a huge moment for Team 7. I need someway to have Sakura fit in**

 **Zigmas: Thank you for your review. I can understand what you're saying about the shoving in the SasuHina stuff, but unfortunately I can't help it. They're my favorite couple. As far as Sasuke educating Sakura… I like that idea, I hope you don't mind if I use it and tweak it a little**

 **Shikara Gizzel, Dalisay08, Splaaash-attack, kikyorocks543, boom2458: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed it**

 **RandiS: Thank you for the review and your right about how Hinata's confidence had to grow much faster**

 **Uchiha's Flames: Thank you :). I have no plans to ever discontinue the fic so no need to worry**

 **Sanctuaryofthedead: Thank you and how's this for a soon update lol**

 **Zipporiah: Thank you for the Review, but I'm not completely what you mean by it felt rushed. Please PM me so I can understand and work towards fixing it**

 **Rcr: Thank you and I'll keep writing as long as you want to read more**

 **Shinobi Saiyan: Thank you for being my first review XD. Sorry for the lack of Neji in this chapter don't worry he'll pop up again soon. SasuHina is my favorite couple as well. Let me just say that Sasuke isn't done making changes**

 **Thank you for all the support everyone. Please continue to read and review this fic- Dishon 3**


	3. Sasuke's Ambition

**Chapter 3**

Sasuke was genuinely annoyed. He knew that Kakashi was going to take a long time, but it seemed like it took him longer this time around then it did last time. Naruto had already set up the eraser to fall on Kakashi's head, but the masked nin was nowhere to be found.

Then out of nowhere Kakashi appeared in the middle of the classroom in a puff of smoke startling Naruto and causing Sakura to scream. Sasuke just looked at his former sensei unimpressed.

"Hello children, sorry I'm late. I got lost on the path of life" Kakashi said with his visible eye closed signifying that he was smiling.

"Liar!" Naruto said accusingly, but Kakashi just shrugged it off.

"Alright let's meet on the roof and introduce ourselves" Kakashi said as he teleported out of the room and onto the roof. Naruto's eyes shined in amazement.

Determined to learn how to do teleport like his new Sensei, Naruto ran out the door forgetting that he set up a chalk eraser earlier. It landed on his head, resulting in chalk dust being mixed in with his Blond hair. Naruto laughed at himself before he continued running towards the roof.

Sakura laughed at Naruto, while Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's idiocy, both following Naruto out the door.

Once on the roof, Team 7 all sat down on the stairs looking at Kakashi who was leaning against a rail.

"Alright I'll start. I am Kakashi Hatake. I'd rather not discuss my dislikes or what I like with you all. Come to think of it, I don't want to discuss my goals with you either" Kakashi said causing all 3 Genin to sweat drop.

"Hey! You didn't tell us anything" Naruto accused being the most vocal out of the 3.

"Oh well. I'm not obligated to tell you anything. Anyway you go first" Kakashi said shrugging.

Naruto fumed for a second before doing what he was told.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like Ramen, Sasuke-teme, Hinata-chan, Neji-baka and hanging out at the Hyuuga Compound. I dislike the time it takes to make Ramen, and my dream is to become Hokage so everyone in the village acknowledges me" Naruto said smiling.

' _ **What!? He hangs out at the Hyuuga Compound? That's interesting, Hokage-sama told me that he and Sasuke were living together so no surprise there. Minato-sensei I hope I train your son well'**_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Interesting. Well you have a lot of work to do to become Hokage so don't count on that" Kakashi said nonchalantly ignoring the glare Naruto gave him. He then turned to Sakura and motioned for her to talk.

"I am Sakura Haruno. I like…" she trailed off looking at Sasuke who gave her a glare in return making her gulp before she continued "…nevermind. I dislike anyone who makes fun of my forehead and my dream is to become a strong Kunoichi like the legandary Sanin Tsunade-sama."

' _ **Hmm. Seems like this one has a crush on Sasuke, but he clearly doesn't return any type of feelings for the girl. As far as her goal… I'll see what I can do'**_ Kakashi thought rubbing his chin.

"Great. If you past the test then we'll get to work on making you a respectable Kunoichi" Kakashi said before looking at Sasuke expecting him to refuse to speak. He was surprised when he did.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. The only thing I like is Hinata Hyuuga, though I can tolerate Neji Hyuuga and the loser. I dislike many things and I don't have a dream, but an ambition. I will obtain enough power to avenge my clan and kill a certain someone" Sasuke said shocking everyone except Kakashi.

' _ **Sasuke wants to kill someone? Well if he does it has to be for a good reason so I'll be there to help. Believe It!"**_ Naruto thought determinedly.

' _ **Woah Sasuke-kun is kind of scary… but he's just so cool and handsome. If only he didn't like Hinata'**_ Sakura thought dejectedly.

' _ **Interesting. Seems like the Uchiha Avenger is smitten by the Hyuuga Heiress. I'll be sure to share this bit of information with Kurenai and Hokage-sama. As far as who he wants to kill it's safe to assume he's talking about Itachi'**_ Kakashi thought looking at Sasuke with his one visible eye.

Sasuke stared back at Kakashi unflinchingly ' _ **He probably thinks I'm talking about Itachi… He couldn't be more wrong. Anyway I wonder if I can get Kakashi to want to teach me the Chidori tomorrow during the bell test. That way I can use my favorite technique more freely'**_ Sasuke mused to himself still looking at Kakashi.

Having enough of the unofficial staring contest with Sasuke, Kakashi addressed his team.

"Tomorrow we will have our first mission. Meet me at training ground 5 tomorrow morning at 6 am. Come prepared and don't eat" Kakashi warned before teleporting off leaving his team.

Everyone stayed quiet for a minute, before Naruto broke the silence.

"Sooo, you want to kill someone huh Sasuke?"

Sasuke gave him a look that said 'we'll talk later' and Naruto decided to drop it for the moment.

Sakura felt left out of the loop so she tried to feel included.

"Hey guys it's lunchtime, why don't we go out to eat to celebrate us becoming a team. My treat!?"

Naruto and Sasuke both looked at Sakura in surprise before looking at each other.

"We'll be happy to go with you Sakura. It'll be great team bonding time."

Of course Naruto was the one who spoke up. He said 'we' but Sasuke didn't look to be complaining.

Sakura smiled at her two teammates.

"Great, so where do you wanna go?" She asked.

Naruto didn't hesitate and instantly recommended Ichiraku's Ramen much to Sasuke's chagrin. Then the 3 walked side by side to Naruto's favorite Ramen stand.

While at Ichiraku's, Team 7 talked about there upcoming mission in the morning.

"What do you think it is?" Sakura asked looking at her noodles.

"We'll probably be escorting a famous princess to a far away village" Naruto said dreamily. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend's idiocy. He knew they were doing the bell test, but he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Well whatever we do tomorrow we need to do it as a team" Sasuke said ignoring the surprised look he got from Naruto.

' _ **I'm 100% sure that I can take a stupid bell from Kakashi by myself, but if I remember correctly the whole point of the exercise is to promote teamwork'**_ Sasuke thought to himself while glaring at his food. He hated when Naruto got to pick where they ate.

"I agree with Sasuke-kun. It only makes sense" Sakura said looking at Sasuke.

"Alright then fine, but I'll be taking the lead" Naruto said childishly causing Sasuke to roll his eyes again until he remembered something else important.

"Everyone make sure they eat tomorrow morning and don't show up until 10. We need all the energy we can get for tomorrow" Sasuke said/commanded.

Sakura and Naruto both looked at Sasuke as if he'd grown another head.

"Bastard you heard what Kaka-sensei said. Why would we do that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"I just have a feeling he'll be late to whatever we're going to do, so why not give him a taste of his own medicine" Sasuke said.

They were skeptical, but ultimately Sakura and Naruto agreed, because they were both annoyed by the fact that they waited for Kakashi to show up in the academy for hours.

Soon the teammates finished their food and said their farewells, promising to see each other the next day for their first mission.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Naruto were walking to the Hyuuga Compound after their trip to Ichiraku's with Sakura. Sasuke had to admit Sakura seemed much more tolerable this time around than she did last time around. She spoke to both he and Naruto evenly and didn't let her stare linger on him longer than she thought she could get away with.

' _ **Maybe it's because I'm with Hinata'**_ Sasuke thought to himself, but in the end he decided he didn't care. As long as Sakura wasn't an annoyance to him then Sasuke could actuallly be civil towards her. Besides she does turn out to be a powerful medical nin.

When they arrived at the gates, the guard let them in and sent a messenger to get Hinata for them. When Hinata arrived, she led them to the Branch House and they all went into Neji's room.

Hinata sat on the bed explaining how her meeting with her sensei went as Naruto and Sasuke sat on the floor listening to her speak.

"Kurenai-sensei is very nice and she says she specializes in Genjutsu. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are also very nice. Kiba-kun had his dog Akamaru memorize my smell so that he could know how to find me if I'm ever in danger and Shino-kun gave me a guard bug to protect me at all times" Hinata said excitedly showing them her beetle.

"Why do you need that when you have me? I'm much more capable than some mutt and a beetle" Sasuke asked sounding like a child.

"Oh hush" Hinata said rolling her eyes giggling.

"So how about you guys? What happened today?" Hinata asked noticing Naruto's blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

It all happened so fast that Sasuke didn't even have time to give Naruto a warning glare before he spoke.

"Sasuke-teme said that the only thing that he likes is you!" Naruto said teasingly.

Hinata was red in an instant and Sasuke was glaring daggers at Naruto. If looks could kill…well lets just say Naruto would have died the most painful death Sasuke could think of.

"Is that true Sasuke?" Hinata asked smiling at the Raven haired boy who simply nodded not stopping his glare on Naruto. Sasuke also didn't trust his words at the moment.

Gathering her courage, Hinata got off Neji's bed and joined Sasuke and Naruto on the floor. Once there she laid her head on Sasuke's shoulder effectively ending his death glare at Naruto.

When Hinata noticed that Sasuke was calm she turned to ask Naruto what else Sasuke said during the meeting with their sensei.

Naruto ignored the glare Sasuke was giving him and answered honestly.

"He said that he wanted to kill somebody to avenge his clan, but he wouldn't tell me who" Naruto in a semi-accusing way.

' _ **Did Naruto just tell on me?'**_ Sasuke thought to himself while looking at Naruto with wide eyes.

"What? Who is the person that you want to kill Sasuke-kun? Do you honestly think killing is the only way? Why can't you just catch the person and have them put on trial? Tell me the truth" Hinata asked softly her eyes pleading for answers.

Sasuke's eyes softened as he looked in Hinata's light lavender eyes. He was uncomfortable. He had never shared the truth about Itachi with anyone other than the 1st 4 Hokage, and that was in a whole different lifetime.

He looked at Naruto who's deep ocean blue eyes were pleading with him to tell him the truth. Naruto wanted to help him in any way he possibly could, Sasuke knew that, but he didn't know if he wanted them to know.

' _ **I don't know if I want to tell them. It would ruin their innocent view of the leaf village. I don't want that for Naruto, and I definitely don't want that for Hinata. I have to come up with an excuse'**_ Sasuke thought quickly.

"I will tell you guys, but we have to wait for the Hyuuga. It won't be fair if everyone knows besides him" Sasuke said smartly knowing Neji was on a mission that day. Hinata and Naruto looked down sadly until they heard the door open.

"Wait for me to do what?" Neji asked while walking into his room.

"I thought you were on a mission!?" Sasuke said surprised mentally slapping himself for not sensing his chakra nearby.

"My teammate Lee found the old lady's cat, so Gai-sensei dismissed us. Don't change the subject Uchiha, what were you talking about" Neji asked narrowing his eyes at Sasuke causing Sasuke to curse to himself.

' _ **So that's the downside of having another genius as a friend. Dammit I have no other choice, but I don't have to tell them the full story'**_ Sasuke thought.

"Fine. I'll tell you, but we can't do this here. The Hyuuga are a nosy clan" Sasuke said ignoring the glare from Neji and the look of annoyance from Hinata.

"Lets go to my house" Sasuke said and after telling Hizashi where they were going, the 4 four friends went to the Uchiha District.

XxXxXx

Once there, Naruto kicked his shoes off and laid on the couch.

"Alright Sasuke just tell us who you want to kill already, so we can help" Naruto said impatiently. Neji raised his eyebrow at Sasuke.

"He's talking about Itachi Uchiha correct?" Neji asked surprising Sasuke "My father told me about the Uchiha massacre when we first became acquainted. He said I should be wary of you because you might turn on us like your brother did" Neji clarified.

"Nii-san how could you say something like that. Sasuke would never betray Konoha" Hinata said appalled.

Sasuke just shook his head sadly knowing that Neji's father was absolutely right. In his past life he betrayed the village in order to gain more power. He never regretted what he did, but he did feel a bit of guilt when he saw the look on Hinata's face.

"No he's right Hinata, it would only make sense to be wary of me. Especially because of the fact that my Sharingan was powerful enough to put a Kumo nin in a Genjutsu in order to save you. I would be suspicious if a 7 year old could do that too" Sasuke said causing Hinata to look at him in shock, before she nodded seeing that he had a point.

"But Neji, your father wasn't informed of all the details. See my older brother Itachi did destroy our clan, but he did it because he was ordered too by the Village Elders. Especially Danzo; That is the man I want to kill" Sasuke said darkly scaring everyone in the room, even Neji, though he didn't show it.

"There's no way! Grandpa Hokage would never allow something like that to happen" Naruto said in disbelief.

"Yeah the Hidden Leaf elders wouldn't order the execution of one of its most noble and powerful clans. Come on Sasuke-kun that can't be true, it doesn't make any sense" Hinata said agreeing with Naruto.

Sasuke was about to try to explain his statement without giving too much information away, but he was interrupted by Neji.

"Actually it does make some sense. My father told me there were tensions between the Uchiha and the Elders for years. He said that they were always slighted at clan meetings, and they were suspected of being responsible for the Kyuubi attack 12 years ago. If I were them, being one of the most powerful clans, I would've probably attempted a coup and overthrow the village that treated me so badly. Of course at that time the 3rd Shinobi War had just ended, so any internal conflict would've left the leaf vulnerable to attacks from enemy villages. If no other arrangement could be made, then a massacre would've been the only choice, and who better than the clan heads son. The Anbu captain Itachi Uchiha. He probably only spared Sasuke so that he could kill him, that would be his way of paying for his sins against the clan" Neji explained gauging the reactions of his friends.

Naruto looked like he was struggling to put everything to together, but knowing him he probably wouldn't understand it.

Hinata looked sad and was on the verge of tears as she looked at Sasuke. Then he saw her go over to Sasuke and hug him letting her tears fall.

Sasuke looked absolutely shell shocked. He put his hand on Hinata's head to let her cry on him, but his eyes never left Neji's.

Neji just shook his head "I mean it's only a theory. I believe Sasuke may be right in targeting the elders and if this theory is true then I will help him to avoid any other future tragedies" he said determinedly shocking Hinata and Naruto.

"Neji-nii-san, even if the theory is true, killing the elders would be treason against the village, and what do you mean by other tragedies" Hinata asked wiping her eyes.

"Think about it Hinata-sama. The Uchiha were a strong and noble clan with a powerful doujutsu, who does that sound like to you?" Neji asked.

"T-The H-Hyuuga clan…" Hinata stuttered with her eyes widening in realization. Neji nodded.

"Exactly, so if the elders ordered their execution, what makes you think that won't do the same thing with our clan?" Neji asked his cousin grimly.

Sasuke just stared at Neji with unconcealed surprise. He was very impressed with Neji's deductive skills.

' _ **I can't believe that a 12 year old Neji was smart enough to figure out and UNDERSTAND the reasoning behind the massacre. I didn't figure it out until I was 16 and I didn't understand it until the 3rd Hokage explained it to me months later. No wonder he was called a genius. I'm actually really grateful I befriended him this time around'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as his surprised look was replaced by an understanding one.

"I believe that your theory is true Neji. It makes the most sense and fills the gaps in my own theory" Sasuke said playing it cool.

"So what are you going to do about it Sasuke?" Naruto asked finally rejoining the conversation.

Sasuke looked at the faces of all his friends.

Naruto looked determined ready to help Sasuke do whatever he planned to do. He turned to Neji.

Neji had a stoic face, but Sasuke knew by the twitching of his fingers, that he was anxiously awaiting Sasuke's words. He finally looked down to Hinata who was still right next to him.

Hinata's tears had dried and she had the intense look she always had when she was training. Like Naruto, He knew she was going to do whatever he decided.

"I want to train to become strong enough to take out Danzo, and then bring my brother back to the village" Sasuke said determindly.

"Lets do it then! We'll defeat the Elders and bring Itachi Uchiha back to the leaf. Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

Neji nodded at Naruto's exclamation and gave Sasuke a smirk. "I'm in. I was going to get stronger anyway, but now I'll have a goal to train for" Neji said.

"I'm going to help too. I know you 3 are stronger than me now, but I won't let you do this without me" Hinata said determinedly.

She had directed the statement at all her friends, but she was only looking at Sasuke.

' _ **I won't let you do this without me Sasuke-kun'**_ Hinata thought to herself noticing the smirk and the genuine look of appreciation on Sasuke's face.

"Thank you everyone. I truly do thank you for wanting to help me, even if it means attacking village elders" Sasuke said the gratitude in his voice was easily identifiable.

"No problem Uchiha. We'll continue this tomorrow, its dinner time so Hinata-sama, and I have to go before our fathers send a search party to get us… That would be quite embarrassing. See you later Naruto-baka, and Uchiha" Neji said turning to walk out of the door ignoring Naruto's shout.

"You're the Baka Neji!" Naruto shouted at the long haired Hyuuga while giving Hinata a hug.

"See you tomorrow Hina-chan" Naruto said smiling. Hinata smiled back before going to give Sasuke a hug.

Sasuke grabbed Hinata before she could grab him and pulled her close causing Hinata to blush and Naruto to grin.

"See you later Sasuke-kun" Hinata said letting go and going after her cousin.

"Later" Sasuke said simply as he closed his door after Hinata.

When Naruto and Sasuke were alone the two decided to go to sleep. They'd have plenty of time to discuss things later and they still had a mission to do in the morning. After telling each other goodnight, the two boys went to their rooms with the events of the day on their mind as they drifted off the sleep.

 **TBC**

 **: Sakura is smarter than some people give her credit for. She's starting to understand that the only way she could mean something to Sasuke is as a friend**

 **Pikohan12: I had to keep Team 7 the same. They're just too iconic! And Sakura's role will be an important one**

 **Dalisay08: I actually love that idea, and I hope you don't mind if I use it, but tweak it a little**

 **Mico4umx: Thank you! :)**

 **Boom2458, Shikara Gizzel, Splaaash-attack: Thank you guys for continued support**

 **DarkCherry: Thank you for your Review! :) Don't worry Sakura won't be the same as she was in canon**

 **Please continue to Read and Review. You guys/girls give me the inspiration to keep updating daily- Dishon 3**


	4. The Bell Test

**Chapter 4**

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all assembled at the training ground at 10 am the next morning as agreed the previous day.

Sakura and Naruto were both nervous before they arrived because they had thought that Kakashi was already going to be there waiting for them, and that he'd be mad that they disobeyed his rules. However, when they got to the training fields they were both relieved and upset to see that their new sensei was nowhere to be found.

"That damn Kaka-sensei. We would've been out here for hours with an empty stomach. That's torture!" Naruto exclaimed a little upset.

"Looks like you were right Sasuke-kun. Now we've all had our proper rest and are prepared to handle any mission that Kakashi-sensei gives to us" Sakura said eyeballing Sasuke who had his eyes closed as if he was focusing on something. Then his eyes snapped opened.

"Quiet guys, I can sense Kakashi's chakra nearby. We don't want him knowing about what we did" Sasuke whispered to his teammates who instantly changed the topic of conversation.

"Ugh I'm soooo hungry" Naruto said exaggerating.

He and Sasuke came up with a plan on the walk to the training grounds, they agreed that they'd still act like they haven't ate. They informed Sakura of their plan when they met up with her just outside the training grounds. They were now doing their very best job at acting.

"Naruto I swear to Kami, if I hear you say one more thing about being hungry I'll explode" Sakura said shaking a fist at Naruto, who looked at Sakura with fear in his eyes.

"Both of you are so annoying" Sasuke said arrogantly. Sakura looked down and Naruto forced his eye to twitch.

"What was that Bastard? Do you want to go right now? I'm in a bad mood and I'd love to pound some sense into you" Naruto said advancing towards Sasuke while cracking his knuckles. At this point, Naruto was trying his best not to laugh, but it didn't matter. Sasuke knew that Kakashi was going to pop up anytime now.

"Oh please Loser. You don't honestly believe that you can beat me do you? Then again you're known for being dense" Sasuke said while rolling his eyes.

Sakura looked at her 2 teammates with pride in her eyes. Naruto was really selling his performance and even though a smile was beginning to show through his angry facade, she had to admit that she would've believed that he actually was going to fight Sasuke.

As for Sasuke, he didn't have a problem with keeping his straight face through their performance. Sasuke was just acting how he normally does.

When the two boys were a few steps away from each other, a cloud of smoke appeared in between them. When the smoke cleared, Kakashi was there standing between Sasuke and Naruto with a hand on both of their heads.

"First mission as a team, and you're already at each other's throats? Not a good start if you asked me" Kakashi said condescendingly before letting his 2 students go.

"Why are you so late Kakashi-sensei" Sakura asked innocently as if she didn't just arrive there only minutes prior.

"Oh you see, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go a different way" Kakashi said causing everyone's face to show a look of disbelief, even Sasuke.

' _ **I forgot how stupid his excuses for being late were. He's a highly trained Jonin who's copied thousands of jutsu with his Sharingan, but he's scared of the bad luck a black cat causes'**_ Sasuke thought rolling his eyes.

Ignoring his team's disbelieving faces, Kakashi took 2 silver bells out of his pocket and showed them to them.

"This is your mission today, the Bell Test. If you can manage to take the bells from me by noon, then you will be able to eat, and you will officially become a shinobi" Kakashi said smile showing through his mask.

"But Kaka-sensei there's only two bells" Naruto said confused.

"Correct! Somebody is going to go back to the academy, only the ones who get a bell are ready for shinobi life" Kakashi said staring at the fear filled faces of Naruto and Sakura, and the impassive face of Sasuke.

' _ **That kid must have a lot of confidence in his abilities. Well I guess unlocking your Sharingan at age 7 can do that for a person'**_ Kakashi mused to himself before continuing.

"Come at me with the intention to kill. Remember I'm a Jonin, you have no need to hold back, weapons and chakra attacks are allowed. Now begin" Kakashi said taking his Icha Icha paradise book out of his weapons holster casually.

Naruto and Sakura both tensed up preparing to attack with everything they had when Sasuke spoke.

"Naruto, Sakura come here real quick."

This comment surprised Kakashi as Sasuke was the last person he'd expect to want to cooperate with others. He watched as his team huddled up to discuss some sort of strategy.

' _ **Hmm they are working as a team huh? This might actually be interesting'**_ Kakashi thought as he put the book back into the weapons holster and took out a kunai to replace it. He looked at the 3 kids huddled in a circle and waited for them to attack.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were huddled up in a circle whispering the game plan that Sasuke had come up with.

"Sasuke-kun are you sure this will work? Can Naruto even handle that many clones" Sakura whispered worriedly. Naruto just gave her a full grin.

"That's easy Sakura-chan, I can make about 400 shadow clones without breaking a sweat. 100 will be easy, Believe it!" Naruto whispered back reassuring Sakura.

"The Loser will be able to handle himself, but are you ready for what you have to do? Your part is just as important as ours is" Sasuke whispered eyeballing Sakura.

" _ **Am I ready? I've been ready for this moment Sasuke-kun. CHA!"**_ Inner Sakura said in Sakura's mind. Sakura just gave Sasuke a nod to show that she was ready.

Sasuke gave her a small smirk and commenced their plan.

Naruto and Sasuke gave Sakura all their kunai and shuriken as they all broke from the huddle. Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sakura who seemed to be the only one carrying all of the weapons that the three had. Before he could ponder the situation more he saw Sasuke disappear into the trees, and Naruto running straight towards him making hand signs that he recognized.

" **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU"** Naruto shouted as 99 more Naruto's appeared out of smoke still charging at Kakashi. Kakashi was surprised at the sheer number of clones the boy could make.

' _ **Your son really is something special Minato-sensei, I couldn't make these many clones until I was an young adult. His chakra reserves are amazing, but that could be a result of the Kyuubi being sealed in him'**_ Kakashi thought as he dodged various attacks from the clone Naruto's.

Kakashi then decided to go on the offensive and began destroying clones left and right. When there were only around 25 clones left he felt a sting on his left arm.

He looked down surprised that he had been cut. He looked in the direction of Sakura and noticed that she was throwing kunai and shuriken at him with impressive accuracy for someone fresh out of the academy.

Kakashi began to move in on Sakura while destroying any Naruto clone that got in his way. Sakura continued to throw the weapons until she ran out. When that happened, Sakura signaled at Naruto and ran into a nearby bush.

Soon after that, the original Naruto left the fight and followed Sakura into the bush leaving his remaining 3 clones to distract Kakashi.

Kakashi easily dispatched the 3 clones and stared at the bushes that his students ran into.

' _ **Hmm I know it's a trap, but I'm curious to see what they've come up with'**_ Kakashi thought as he walked towards the bush.

As he approached he saw the bush began to move as Naruto jumped out and attacked him head on. Kakashi had to admit that Naruto's fearlessness was impressive, but it was pretty dumb for him to attack him alone.

Kakashi got a twinkle in his visible as Naruto punched him in his stomach.

Naruto let out of shriek of accomplishment as he managed to land a blow on his sensei, but he was instantly silenced as Kakashi's body turned into a broken piece of wood.

' _ **Oh no! Substitution Jutsu. Where did he go'**_ Naruto thought searching around frantically for his Sensei, little did he know Kakashi was running up behind him with his hands together.

Naruto didn't notice until it was too late and Kakashi was already to close to dodge, he looked on in fear as Kakashi weaved hand signs.

" **LEAF VILLAGE SECRET FINGER JUTSU: ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH"** Kakashi said executing the Jutsu and sending Naruto flying with tears in eyes while covering his butt.

Sasuke shook his head from his position in a nearby tree. ' _ **That's what the loser gets for variating from the plan'**_ Sasuke thought as he saw Sakura signal him signifying that she still needed time to set up their trap.

Sasuke hopped out the tree and stood in front of Kakashi. Kakashi looked at Sasuke in surprise before shaking his head.

"Didn't you learn from Naruto? Attacking me like this hopeless" Kakashi said but Sasuke just smirked.

"Oh I'm sure you'll find me much more challenging than he was" Sasuke said while activating his Sharingan.

The three comma pattern in his blood red eyes told Kakashi that if he didn't take this fight seriously then Sasuke would take a bell from him, or worse he'd actually damage him.

' _ **This kid is only 12 and he has unlocked the full three tomoe Sharingan. It's scary to think about what he'll become when he gets older'**_ Kakashi thought while lifting his headband revealing his own Sharingan.

The two shinobi stared each other down for a moment before they both sprang into action, fists moving so fast that Naruto and Sakura couldn't see who was winning and who was losing.

Kakashi was baffled at the amount of strength and speed Sasuke was exerting. Sasuke's Taijutsu seemed to be on a level on par his if not better. Kakashi was actually being pushed back by Sasuke's furious assault.

Kakashi noticed that Sasuke wasn't even aiming for a bell and was instead focused on fighting him to the best of his abilities. Then Kakashi felt Sasuke break through his defenses and hit him with a kick sending him up in the air.

Sasuke's kick flurry continued for a few attacks, but Sasuke then flipped over in the air to hover above Kakashi.

" **LION'S BARRAGE"** Sasuke shouted as he kicked Kakashi hard towards the ground causing the ground to break but he wasn't done there.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Sasuke said as he fired a giant ball of fire towards Kakashi's body. He saw Kakashi's eyes widened before the fireball engulfed him.

Sasuke landed and looked down to the crater and smirked at Kakashi's body laying in the dirt, but his satisfaction was only temporary as he felt the cold steel of a kunai lightly pressed against his throat.

He looked back in surprise to see Kakashi standing behind him. Sasuke looked back to the crater and saw that the Kakashi that was in the crater disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A damn shadow clone, I should've known… I live with Naruto I should've easily identified that. When did you have time to make the switch?" Sasuke asked visibly peeved by the fact that Kakashi had beaten him.

"Now now Sasuke, I can't tell you my secrets, you haven't gotten a bell yet" Kakashi said and Sasuke could tell that he was smiling by the tone of his voice.

"Oh yeah about that… NOW" Sasuke said.

Kakashi stared wide eyed as Sakura seemed to materialize out of thin air right in front of him holding a string. Sakura smiled sweetly at her sensei.

"CHA" she screamed as she pulled down on the string releasing a large amount of kunai and shuriken at Kakashi.

' _ **I can't believe it. Sasuke put a Genjutsu over Sakura so that she could go unnoticed while she set up this trap. This is bad, I have to think fast'**_ Kakashi thought pushing Sasuke away.

" **EARTH STYLE: MUD WALL"** Kakashi said as a giant wall appeared out of the ground to block the kunai and shuriken, but unfortunately for the silver haired jonin, Sasuke had planned for him to do that.

The ground beneath Kakashi began to rumble as Naruto came up under him and grabbed the two bells before uppercutting his sensei.

"That was for poking me in the butt earlier" Naruto said still rubbing his backside as Sasuke and Sakura joined him in standing over Kakashi.

Kakashi stared up at the 3 kids in shock before smiling and then laughing genuinely.

"Very good you got the bells, now here comes the hardest part. Deciding which two of you deserve to move on" Kakashi said getting up and putting his headband back over his Sharingan.

Naruto looked at the bells in his hands for only a moment before tossing one to both Sasuke and Sakura, but before he could blink the bell that he threw at Sasuke was thrown back hard. At his head.

"OW! Bastard why would you do that" Naruto asked incredulously rubbing the now red spot on his forehead. Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms. Naruto wasn't done with Sasuke.

"Listen Sasuke you need to mo…"

"Shut up Idiot. You and Sakura are taking the bells to move on and that's final" Sasuke said giving Naruto and Sakura glares that dared them to argue. Even Kakashi had to admit that it was an impressive glare.

"But why?" Naruto asked his best friend.

"Are you that dense? How do you expect to become Hokage someday if your stuck as an academy student? The only reason you passed this year is because Hinata and I helped you. You couldn't make it back to this point on your own so move on and get stronger so you can become Hokage one day" Sasuke scoffed at Naruto.

The blond boy looked at Sasuke with wide blue teary eyes, but before he could respond to what Sasuke had said another voice spoke up.

"But why me Sasuke-kun? Why are you letting me keep a bell?" Sakura asked quietly. Sasuke looked at Sakura impassively for a moment before turning his back to her.

"How would you become a great kunoichi if you wasted another year in the academy. You need all the help you can get to improve your shinobi skills, and Kakashi would teach you better than Iruka would. Jonin beats Chunin" Sasuke said irritably as if it bothered him to have to explain himself.

And Sasuke would be the first to admit that it did bother him to have to explain himself, but he knew that if he didn't then Naruto and Sakura would keep insisting that he'd take a bell. The combined efforts of those 2 would result in a headache and Sasuke didn't want to deal with it.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with tears in her eyes. He may have not said it the nicest way, but Sasuke had basically admitted that he wanted her to accomplish her dreams.

' _ **That must mean that I've upgraded from annoying fan girl to a valued teammate. He might even consider me as a friend'**_ Sakura thought as tears began to run down her face.

"Thank you so much Sasuke-kun" Sakura said as she ran over to hug him crying on his shoulder.

Sasuke looked at the pink haired girl in discomfort. He wasn't really comfortable with any girl other than Hinata clinging on to him like this, but he realized that she was feeling emotional so he allowed her to cry on his shoulder for the moment.

Just when he was about to push Sakura off him, felt another body cling to him.

He looked to see that Naruto was now hugging him all well with a big smile on his face. ' _ **Damn. Now I need to get both of them off me'**_ Sasuke thought in annoyance, but allowed a small smirk to show on his face.

Kakashi looked at the 3 with the most genuine smile he's had in a long time. Deciding that he should end the moment, he walked up to the hugging kids and put his hand on Sasuke and Naruto's head. They all looked at Kakashi noticing his visible eye was closed and his smile almost peeked through the mask.

"You guys are great. Not only did each and everyone of you display great shinobi skills, but you also did it while performing as a team. The Bell Test was designed to split you up and put you against each other, but in the end you got both the bells, and all of you were willing to go back to the ninja academy so that you're comrades can move on. You all pass the test with flying colors" Kakashi said proudly.

Naruto and Sakura both gave cheers that they all passed while Sasuke mentally slappped himself.

' _ **I forgot all about this memory. I honestly thought I was going back to the Acadmey. I feel so stupid, of course I was going to move on, the teams only work as squads of 3'**_ Sasuke thought mentally insulting himself for his lapse in memory.

"You are now all officially Genin and the first thing I want to teach you is this" Kakashi started gaining everyone's attention.

"Following the rules is important, and those who break the rules are scum… but those who abandoned their comrades are even worse scum. Always have each other's back no matter what" Kakashi finished.

"Yes Kakashi-sensei" Naruto and Sakura chorused together and Sasuke gave him a nod. Kakashi smiled.

"Okay guys we will receive our first D-rank mission tomorrow. We'll be meeting at the Hokage Tower at 7:00am, oh and it'll be wise to show up at the time I say from now on, I won't be as forgiving in the future"Kakashi said pulling his Icha Icha Paradise book out.

Even Sasuke was shocked that Kakashi knew about them showing up late to the Bell Test today.

"How'd you know?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because you're a horrible actor Naruto" Kakashi said laughing causing Naruto to pout, Sasuke to smirk, and Sakura to chuckle.

' _ **Hn. My team isn't nearly as annoying as last time, but it's probably because I'm not a revenge obsessed kid anymore'**_ Sasuke thought looking at the first 3 people he formed bounds with after his family was killed.

Sasuke allowed a small smile to escape his face as they all walked out of the training grounds together. Of course nobody saw it though.

XxXxXx

Later that day, Kakashi was in the Hokage's office talking to the 3rd Hokage about how the Bell Test went.

"That's good, it seems that Sasuke-kun didn't turn out as damaged from his family's slaughter as one would expect, and his proficiency with his Sharingan isn't that surprising considering how powerful Itahci's was at that age. Please continue to show him companionship, and i hope you know that as their sensei, I expect you to be a father figure for both Sasuke and Naruto" Hiruzen told the masked ninja shocking him.

"Why me Hokage-sama, I don't necessarily set the best examples for children" Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sasuke because you have a Sharingan. You are literally the only person available to him that can help him hone is Dojutsu and he might feel a connection to you. Naruto because you are the only one of Minato's students left. You are the last link that Naruto has to his father in the village, and who knows when Jiraya's coming back. So I want you to start taking responsibility" Hiruzen said.

' _ **Those reasons aren't even that valid. Sasuke's Sharingan is honed enough and he's 12 and Jiraya-sama is Naruto's godfather! He should be here watching over him, not me'**_ Kakashi thought pouting.

Hiruzen noticed the look on Kakashi's face and chuckled to himself.

"You'll be fine Kakashi, just think of it as a mission. I'm not expecting you to start living with them and became their legal guardian, I just want them to have someone than they can go to for advice and depend on at all times" Hiruzen said.

"Yes sir Hokage-sama, I promise I'll try my best" Kakashi said sighing as he left the Hokage's office.

XxXxXx

While Kakashi was at the Hokage's office; Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata and Neji were in living room of Sasuke and Naruto's house.

Neji was smirking smugly at Naruto and Sasuke as he unlocked Naruto's chakra points. Neji had won that round of sparring today and had left Sasuke and Naruto's chakra points blocked.

"You got lucky Neji-baka, we just came back from fighting Kaka-sensei so I couldn't fight at my full strength" Naruto complained as Neji continued to release his chakra.

"Shut it Naruto. Why can't you take your loss with pride like the Uchiha" Neji said smirking as he looked over to Sasuke.

"Mind you Hyuuga that most of my chakra was exhausted fighting a Jonin 1 on 1. Can you boast the same thing" Sasuke asked Neji as Hinata continued to work on unblocking his chakra network.

"All I hear from you are excuses. Even if your chakra was exerted like you both claim, we were practicing Taijutsu. Hinata-sama lasted longer than you two did and she's up releasing your chakra Uchiha" Neji responded pointing at his cousin causing her to smile a little in pride.

"That's only because you two learned that spinny thing from Hinata's father today" Naruto whined.

"It's called Rotation Naruto-kun" Hinata said.

"Well it sure did a number on the Bastard and I while we were tired, but lets see you do this again when we're 100%. I'll mop the floor with you Neji-baka" Naruto claimed boldly.

"Yeah good luck with that" Neji said rolling his eyes causing Naruto to start an argument.

Hinata turned her attention away from the arguing boys, Hinata looked at Sasuke.

"How are you feeling right now?" Hinata asked as Sasuke sat up.

"I think I've figured out how much power I have" Sasuke told Hinata knowing that she wouldn't understand exactly what he meant.

' _ **It seems that at my current level I'm not yet capable of defeating Kakashi in a 1 on 1 fight. Of course neither of us used Chidori, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I'm going to assume that Kakashi is stronger than me at the moment, which means Itachi is still stronger than me. I need to unlock my Mangekyou Sharingan so I can be back at full power, but I'd rather not lose someone close to me to do it'**_ Sasuke thought while staring at Hinata.

"I'm glad you got the chance to test yourself today Sasuke-kun" Hinata said smiling.

"Hn" Sasuke replied.

"Kurenai-sensei said we're starting our first D-rank mission tomorrow. I'm excited, but I'm also a little nervous" Hinata confessed while looking away.

When she looked back at Sasuke she noticed the genuine look of confusion on his face.

"Why you nervous Hinata? Haven't you realized by now that you're strong? You have nothing to be nervous about from a D-rank mission" Sasuke said genuinely.

The look in Sasuke's eyes showed Hinata that he had nothing but confidence in her abilities. It made Hinata happy, so she jumped onto Sasuke hugging him tightly.

' _ **This is the 3rd hug I've gotten today from 3 different people, if I don't stop now then my reputation will be ruined… but I like Hinata's hugs so I'll allow it'**_ Sasuke thought as he returned Hinata's hug tightly.

When the two pulled apart, Sasuke noticed that Naruto and Neji were no longer bickering, instead they were both looking at him and Hinata with twin looks of amusement on their faces.

Sasuke knew that were about to do something stupid, so he discreetly readied his hand signs, and gathered his last bit of chakra. As if on cue Naruto and Neji began.

"SASUKE AND HINATA SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S…"

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Sasuke released a giant ball of fire interrupting them.

" **ROTATION"** Neji countered protecting both him and Naruto who was laughing at the annoyed look on Sasuke's face.

' _ **Stupid Hyuuga rotation'**_ Sasuke thought grumbling feeling depleted glaring at his two laughing friends.

Hinata chuckled with them as she grabbed Sasuke's hand and laid them both down on the couch in the living room.

The 3 friends laughed for the rest of their time together about the steam coming out of Sasuke's ears while he just glared at Neji and Naruto promising vengeance.

 **TBC**

 **Dalisay08- Sakura will continue on to have an important role and Thank you for giving me permission to use your idea**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you for reviewing up to this point in the story. Sasuke's going to affect a lot more than just the Indra-Ashura feud. As the Naru/Saku pairing… I'm not 100% sure yet. We'll see**

 **Crystal (Guest)- Thank you for reviewing. I like Sakura, so I'm not going to bash her in the story Just because I like the SasuHina pairing better**

 **Please keep reading and reviewing guys. Thank you all so much- Dishon 3**


	5. Medical Ninjutsu

**Chapter 5**

A few months passed by since Team 7 passed Kakashi's Bell Test in order to become Genin.

Sasuke and Naruto were starting to get annoyed by the constant D-rank missions that they were receiving.

Naruto had thought that ninja missions would be more fun and challenging than babysitting a kid, or finding someone's lost cat. He was itching for some more action to keep his skills sharp.

Sasuke was annoyed because he felt like he was wasting his time by participating in these missions. He knew that the only mission that he'd actually enjoy was the mission to the Land of Waves, but that wasn't for a few more weeks. He was looking forward to a rematch against Haku.

That wasn't the only thing that annoyed Sasuke. Hinata had come by his house to tell Sasuke that her team had been assigned a C-rank mission and that they'd be gone for 2 weeks at the longest. The problem was that she had told him that a whole month ago.

Sasuke laid down on his bed recalling the conversation they had before she left.

 **Sasuke flashback**

 **Sasuke was walking home after a D-rank mission. It had been a simple cat recovery mission, so it only took them 3 minutes with the help of Naruto's army of shadow clones.**

 **Naruto had decided not to come home with Sasuke opting to go to Ichiraku's instead. Sasuke noticed that Sakura had went with Naruto, but it was none of his business, so he didn't comment on it.**

 **When he arrived home, he realized that the lights were on, and he was sure that he had turned them off before he left. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his house, the only people that had keys to his house were Naruto, Neji and Hinata.**

 **Naruto was still at Ichiraku's, and Neji was on a mission out of the village, so that just left...**

 **Sasuke allowed a smile to adorn his face as he opened the door seeing Hinata on the couch twirling a Kunai around her finger. Hearing the door open, she looked up to see Sasuke and a bright smile adorned her face.**

 **She got up and ran to hug Sasuke. Over the weeks Sasuke and Hinata had gotten more used to the idea of being together. The most intimate thing they've done so far was hug, but they held hands when walking throughout the village and they spent most of their time with each other when they didn't have missions. They never officially had a date, but Sasuke was waiting for the right time to ask her.**

 **They were often the talk of the village which made Hinata walk around with a constant blush, but Sasuke just acted like he didn't hear it. The opinions of the villagers never really mattered to Sasuke anyway.**

" **How did your mission go today?" Hinata asked after they pulled away.**

" **Boring. The loser could've handled it by himself" Sasuke said shrugging.**

" **So what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting me?" Sasuke asked looking at Hinata play with her fingers, a common sign that she was nervous.**

" **Tomorrow my team is leaving on a C-rank mission to the Land of Iron. We're going to be gone 2 weeks at the most, but I still wanted to see you before I left" Hinata said quietly.**

 **Sasuke smiled again. Only Hinata can make him smile more than once a day, he stepped towards her and did the most intimate gesture he'd ever done.**

 **He poked her forehead.**

 **Hinata looked up at Sasuke with a huge blush on her face. It felt weird to be poked on the forehead, but after she noticed the warm look in Sasuke's eyes and the gentle smile on his face, she began to blush furiously.**

" **I know you'll do great, believe in your own strength. Stay safe Hinata, but if you're gone too long I will come after you" Sasuke said seriously.**

 **Hinata beamed at him and they spent the rest of their time together in silence. Just enjoying the other's presence.**

 **End Flashback**

Sasuke had the upmost faith in Hinata's abilities as a ninja. He had no doubt that she would make it back to Konoha safe, and he knew that her Sensei was a respected Jonin who would protect her with her life, but for some reason Sasuke still felt a small bit of worry.

' _ **Caring for someone other than myself is so annoying'**_ Sasuke thought still not being used to caring for someone else.

' _ **She should've returned 2 weeks ago, I know that sometimes missions take longer than expected, but all I know is... She better be safe'**_ Sasuke thought as he stared at his ceiling thinking about Hinata.

A few hours went by before Sasuke had decided that he was through waiting. He was going to go looking for her.

' _ **I better go tell the Hyuuga and the Loser.'**_

XxXxXx

 **With Team 8 (2 weeks prior)**

They had completed their mission and were now on their way back to Konoha, when 20 bandits surrounded them. They demanded that Hinata be handed over to them, and of course Kurenai refused causing the bandits to attack.

Hinata hadn't been this afraid since the Kumo nin had tried to kidnap her 5 years prior. However, her training with Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji had prepared her for situations like this.

Activating her Byakugan, she noticed that 5 bandits had surrounded her with kunai in their hands. Hinata slowly gathered her chakra getting ready for them to make a mistake that she could capitalize on.

She didn't have to wait long as they all jumped at her at the same time. Hinata let a very Sasuke like smirk show her face as the bandits bodies got closer to hers. When she knew for sure that they wouldn't change their trajectory she began her spin.

" **ROTATION"** Hinata yelled as all the bandits collided with her field of chakra.

4 were knocked unconscious instantly, but one shakily got back to his feet. He was heavily damaged, but he still looked at Hinata with determination in his eyes.

"Your eyes are mine Hyuuga" He said with the most menacing voice he could muster.

' _ **He's not nearly as intimidating as Neji-nii or Sasuke-kun'**_ Hinata thought as she internally rolled her eyes at the bandit's words.

"You're in range" Hinata replied simply as she aimed a gentle fist at his shoulder aiming to disable him, but the man tried to dodge so instead Hinata hit him in the chest instantly killing the man.

Hinata stared in horror as the bandit dropped to the ground dead in front of her. She had only meant to immobilize him, but now she had killed somebody.

Hinata knew that there were casualties in the shinobi life, and that killing was sometimes necessary; but she never thought that she was ever going to take one herself and the thought petrified her. She didn't have time to grieve for long as another bandit approached her from behind.

She turned in time dodged a punch and with a quick gentle fist she disabled the bandit. Hinata looked around to see how her teammates were doing with the remaining bandits.

Kurenai had already disposed of 6 bandits and was currently dodging a flurry of punches from the last one standing. She had no visible damage so Hinata knew she didn't need help.

Shino had managed to defeat two of the bandits and was currently trying to fend off the last 2 bandits at once with his insects flying furiously around him. He was bleeding from a wound on his forehead but the cut didn't look too deep.

As soon as Hinata resolved to go help Shino, a loud yelp was heard followed by Kiba's shout.

"AKAMARU."

Hinata turned in time to see a kunai flying towards Akamaru's downed form. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Kiba dive in front of his dog. She watched helplessly as the kunai lodged itself in Kiba's chest.

When she saw a Kiba spit up blood she felt a burning rage build inside her. Without a second thought she charged the bandits that Kiba had previously been fighting.

They threw kunai at Hinata, but they were blocked by a wall of insects, Hinata noticed Shino by her side rushing towards the 3 bandits with the unmistakable expression of rage, they were soon joined by Kurenai.

"Keep your cool, we'll take these 3 out and then take Kiba to see a medic. Now Hinata take the one on the right, Shino go left, I'll take out the one in the middle" Kurenai ordered as the remaining members of Team 8 charged the last 3 bandits.

The fight didn't last long and soon they were gathered around the unconscious forms of Kiba and Akamaru.

"What are we going to do Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked with tears rolling down her cheeks looking at Kiba.

"I know someone who can heal him and she doesn't live far from here. Shino pick Kiba up, Hinata get Akamaru. Come we don't have much time" Kurenai said taking off into the trees.

Hinata and Shino did as they were told and followed Kurenai into the trees.

XxXxXx

Soon after they arrived at a small home in the middle of a clearing. Kurenai hastily made her way to the door and knocked furiously.

"What do you want?" An elderly woman shouted while opening the door, but when she saw Kurenai she smiled.

She opened her mouth in greeting, but then she saw Kiba's immobile form on Shino's back and Akamaru laying unconscious in Hinata's arms.

"Oh dear, get him inside" The woman ordered. Team 8 headed inside the woman's house and laid Kiba and Akamaru on the couch.

Once inside the woman cut the remains of Kiba's shirt off and placed her hands over his chest. Her hands began to glow as a green aura surrounded them. Hinata activated her Byakugan as she watched the woman pump healing chakra into her friend.

She watched in amazement as Kiba's stab wound slowly began to close until it was nothing left other than a small scar on his chest.

Once the woman was satisfied with Kiba's condition she turned her attention to Akamaru and healed him as well.

Once the healing was done the lady turned to them and smiled. Hinata instantly deactivated her Byakugan.

"Kurenai it's always nice to see you granddaughter, but it seems like the only time you visit me is when someone's hurt. Why cant you ever come to say hi?" The woman complained.

Hinata and Shino both looked at Kurenai with looks of surprise as Kurenai just sweat dropped.

"Sorry grandma Kuri, I've been busy, and I just became a commander of Genin team a few months back and it just slipped my mind" Kurenai said lamely.

"Whatever you say. Anyway introduce your team to me" Kuri said dismissively as she looked at the two kids with a smile.

"The one with the shades is Shino Aburame, heir to the Aburame clan. The one that you healed is Kiba Inuzuka, and the girl is Hinata Hyuuga, heiress to the Hyuuga clan" Kurenai told her grandmother.

"I'm impressed that Hokage-sama trusted you with a team full of heirs to such prestigious clans. It's nice to meet you all" Kuri said with a smile.

"Its n-nice to meet you too Kuri-san" Hinata said returning the smile. Shino just gave the older woman a respectful nod.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, you three can join me for dinner. You are also welcome to stay here until your friend and his dog completely heals" Kuri said as she walked towards the kitchen. Kurenai turned to her team.

"We'll stay here and rest until Kiba and Akamaru are healthy enough to return to the village. Its safe here so lets relax."

Shino released the tension in his shoulders, but Hinata didn't. Now that she knew that Kiba and Akamaru were safe, her mind instantly went back to the life she'd taken that day.

Hinata was fidgeting so much at the dinner table that Kurenai had to ask her student what was wrong.

"Hinata did something happen during the fight that you're not telling us?" Kurenai asked.

"You s-see I accidentally k-killed one of the b-bandits. I didn't mean too h-he just moved too s-slow" Hinata stuttered visibly upset.

Shino and Kurenai looked at Hinata with worry plastered all over their faces. Then Kuri spoke up surprising them.

"You truly are a gentle soul Hinata. The bandits attacked you and injured your comrades and yet you grieve for taking only one of their lives. What drove you to the life of a shinobi?"

Hinata looked at her sensei's grandmother in shock before deciding to answer the elderly woman truthfully.

"As the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, it's expected of me to be an exceptional shinobi, and I want to be strong enough to help my closest friend accomplish his goal" Hinata said blushing a little as she thought about Sasuke.

Kurenai noticed Hinata's blush and looked at her knowingly. Kuri didn't say anything about her blush deciding to stay on topic.

"So you have high expectations from your clan and you want to help your friend with his goal. Those are good reasons, but as a shinobi you have to be ready to take a life at all times, however, there are also shinobi that help save them" Kuri said causing Hinata's eyes to widened.

"Really? What kind of shinobi do that Kuri-san" Hinata asked with excitement in her voice.

"Medical ninja. I'm a medical ninja, that's how I was able to heal your friend and his dog. I have taken many lives during my days as an active shinobi, but I'm proud to say that I've saved more lives than I have taken" Kuri said smiling at Hinata.

"Do you think that you can teach me how to be a medical ninja Kuri-san? I think that's exactly what I want to be" Hinata asked smiling back.

"Sure thing we'll start after dinner. It requires excellent chakra control, but from what I know of the Hyuuga's fighting style it should be relatively easy for you to learn the basics. You'll be healing in no time" Kuri said.

"Thank you so much Kuri-san! I promise I'll make it up to you" Hinata said excitedly.

"Oh don't worry about it. Just promise to visit every now and again since my granddaughter doesn't have time for me" Kuri said sending a semi accusing glance at Kurenai who pretended not to hear her.

"Of course!" Hinata said as the weight was completely off her shoulders.

XxXxXx

For the next 2 weeks Hinata trained in medical ninjutsu under Kuri. She practiced day after day for hours until she got it down. Kuri smiled at Hinata's progress, she was no where near a master, but she could heal basic wounds with minimal difficulty.

After Kiba and Akamaru were fully healed, Team 8 stood outside of Kuri's small house.

"Well its always nice seeing you Kurenai, you better bring a man the next time you come here. I want great grandkids before I die of old age" Kuri told her granddaughter playfully causing Kurenai to blush.

"It was nice meeting you kids as well. You 3 will always be welcome here as well" Kuri said smiling at the kids who all smiled back genuinely especially Hinata. She got real close to Kuri over the past week, and she was kind of sad to be going, but she knew she had to return home.

She knew that they were scheduled to return to the village 2 weeks ago and that everyone was probably wondering where they were. People were probably worried about her. Her father, uncle, Hanabi, Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke... Especially Sasuke.

Hinata knew that he was likely ready to search for her if she didn't come back soon. Neji and Naruto would most likely come with him and that was a situation she wanted to avoid. It'll be embarrassing if they showed up in the middle of her mission.

"Thank you for everything Kuri-san. I'll be sure to visit whenever I can" Hinata said as they took off into the trees on the path to Konoha.

XxXxXx

 **Back in Konoha**

Sasuke was in the Hokage's office with Neji and Naruto. He was trying to get permission to go look for Team 8, since their return date was supposed to be 2 and a half weeks ago. Sasuke had a feeling that something happened and he didn't like it.

Sasuke was determined to go find them. Naruto and Neji weren't letting him go alone. They were worried about Hinata just like he was.

"I'm sorry boys, but I'm not sending 3 Genin on a recovery mission. I'm sure that they'll return any moment now. It was a C-rank mission and Kurenai is a very capable Jonin, I have no doubt that everyone is safe" Hiruzen said trying to appease the children.

"With all do respect Hokage-sama we are no ordinary Genin. The idiot and I are stronger than most Chunin I see roaming the streets, and Sasuke is even stronger than us. We'll be more than capable of this mission" Neji said trying to reason with the Hokage.

"Yeah gramps Neji-baka is right, we can easily do this. If you don't let us go, we're just going to leave anyway. It's just easier on everyone if we have your permission" Naruto said stubbornly.

"Naruto-kun you can't just go on a mission without my approval" Hiruzen said sighing.

"Kaka-sensei said that those who don't follow the rules are scum..." Naruto started.

"Kakashi is absolutely right" Hiruzen interrupted.

"...I wasn't done gramps. He also said that those who abandon their friends are even worse scum. I'm not abandoning Hinata or any of her comrades" Naruto said firmly.

Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to talk the boys out of their crusade peacefully he called in 2 Jonin. He had no choice, but to have them subdued and monitored until Team 8 returned.

"Genma, Hayate please take these 3 to the Hyuuga Compound and watch them until Kurenai's team returns" Hiruzen said as Genma and Hayate materialized into the room next to him.

Sasuke, Neji and Naruto all tensed up as they looked at the two Jonin.

"Please don't resist we'd rather do this peacefully" Genma said playing with the senbon in his mouth, but as soon as he and Hayate took a step forward the 3 kids were instantly ready to attack.

Naruto had filled the room with Shadow Clones, Neji had activated his Byakugan, and Sasuke's crimson red eyes glowed menacingly at the Jonin.

There was a tense silence in the room before the Naruto's charged starting the mayhem.

XxXxXx

Team 8 opened the door and Hinata's eyes widened as she saw 3 of the closest people to her wrestling with 2 Jonin. Everyone in the room froze noticing that Team 8 was at the door of the Hokage's office.

Instantly all the Naruto shadow clones disappeared as the real Naruto gave Hinata a big hug making them both fall down.

"Hinata-chan you were gone so long! Don't scare us like that anymore, We were about to beat the tar out of these Jonin" Naruto said as he let Hinata go. Hinata looked to see Neji and Sasuke who both deactivated their Dojutsu at the same time. They gave her almost identical smirks and Hinata smiled warmly at them.

She walked over and gave her cousin a hug before going to give Sasuke one. She stayed by Sasuke's side as he wrapped an arm around her possessively. Hinata blushed at the public display of affection and tried to ignore the teasing looks she got from her team.

Hiruzen cleared his throat getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Uh Hinata-chan you can leave with Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Neji-kun. I'll just listen to the details of your mission from your teammates, have a good night" Hiruzen said relieved that Team 8 had came back at that moment. The situation would've gotten out of hand if they hadn't.

"Thank you Hokage-sama" Hinata said and just like that the four friends left the Hokage Tower together.

XxXxXx

Once they made it to Neji's room in the Hyuuga Branch house, Hinata was instantly bombarded by questions from 2 of her friends. Hinata was quiet and unknowingly leaned into Sasuke as Naruto and Neji questioned her on what happened.

"We were attacked by bandits trying to take my eyes. Kiba got hurt and we ended up staying at Kurenai-sensei's grandmothers house. There I was taught the basics of medical ninjutsu" Hinata said as she allowed her hands to glow green with chakra.

Neji and Sasuke both activated their Dojutsu's to analyze the chakra while Naruto just stared in amazement.

"That's so cool Hinata-chan, do you think you can teach me?" Naruto asked excitedly. Hinata just shook her head.

"I'm still learning myself Naruto-kun, I'm in no position to teach you anything" Hinata said causing Naruto to pout.

"Please!" Naruto asked more.

"She said no loser so drop it. Anyway we should get going soon because Hinata needs her rest" Sasuke said before Hinata could answer.

"Uchiha is right so stop bothering Hinata-sama" Neji said glaring at Naruto who stuck his tongue out at him. The two soon began arguing which was nothing new.

"Hinata we're going to go on our first official date tomorrow. I'm coming to get you at 8 am okay?" Sasuke commanded more than asked.

Hinata blushed a deep red shade at his bluntness.

"Okay Sasuke-kun. I'll see you then" Hinata said.

Sasuke smiled and poked her forehead affectionately before grabbing Naruto's collar and pulling him out of Neji's room.

Hinata stared at their retreating forms with a large smile on her face.

' _ **My first official date with Sasuke-kun is tomorrow! I can't wait'**_ Hinata thought to herself happily ignoring the weird look Neji gave her.

"Okay what's that face about Hinata-sama?" Neji asked confused.

"Nothing Neji-nii. Its just that I think tomorrow is going to be a good day" Hinata said smiling at Neji while walking towards the door.

Neji couldn't help but give Hinata a small smile in return as the two cousins parted ways to go to sleep.

 **TBC**

 **RandiS- I have no set days for my updates but I try to update at least twice a week if I can**

 **Hiro VP- THANK YOU**

 **Nazrita- thank you so much**

 **Crimson11116- Guy will make his grand appearance soon. I promise**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark- I already have the way Sasuke unlocks his Mangekyou planned, and his EMS will be a little tricky, but I have a few ideas**


	6. The First Date

**Chapter 6**

The next morning Hinata was awoken by the constant banging on the other side of her door. As she rubbed her eyes she recognized that the voice of her little sister accompanied the banging.

"Hinata! Hinata! Wake up! Sasuke-kun is outside and he's waiting for you" The 8 year old said.

Hinata's eyes widened as she looked at the clock next to her bed only to realize that she had overslept.

' _ **Oh no. Sasuke-kun is already waiting outside and I'm still in my pajamas. I must hurry up and get ready'**_ Hinata thought as she jumped out of her bed.

She opened the door, so that Hanabi could enter, before running to the bathroom to prepare herself.

Hanabi wasted no time in preparing clothes for Hinata to wear on her date. Even though she was only 8, she was much more stylish than her conservative older sister.

She finished laying out her outfit just as Hinata finished in the bathroom. Hinata looked well groomed, but she left her hair in the same messy bun that she slept in. Hanabi thought that it was lazy, but she couldn't deny that it added to Hinata's natural look.

Hinata quickly got dressed and together the two sisters made their way downstairs. Once outside Hinata and Hanabi noticed that Sasuke and Neji were sparring in the sparring grounds in front of Hiashi and Hizashi.

The two were trading blows evenly for a moment, but Hinata knew that Sasuke was holding back so that Neji wouldn't get overwhelmed to quickly. Hiashi and Hizashi both gave Neji looks of approval as he blocked one of Sasuke's fireballs with a well timed Rotation.

Upon noticing Hinata, Sasuke began to put more power into his attacks in order to end the match sooner. Neji's Byakugan was active as he tried his best to effectively counter all of the Uchiha's attacks, but eventually he ran out of stamina. With a well placed kick to the stomach, Sasuke ended the sparring match.

"Very well done by the both of you. Neji you're proving yourself to be a prodigy among the clan, and Uchiha your fighting prowess is remarkable for a 13 year old child. You two will grow to be fine shinobi" Hizashi praised the two. Hiashi just nodded agreeing with his twin.

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment before his eyes met Hinata's. She was already smiling at him, and Sasuke felt his lips twitch as if they were trying to return the smile, but he stopped himself.

He didn't want to ruin his stoic nature in front of Neji and Hinata's fathers. Instead he walked towards Hinata and poked her forehead affectionately causing her to blush. He heard Hanabi giggling, but he hardly cared.

"Ready to go?" He asked, but before Hinata could answer a voice cut through the air.

"Where exactly do you two plan to be going? Could this be a date?" Hiashi asked with no emotion in his voice causing both Hinata and Sasuke to freeze, but for different reasons.

Hinata froze because she wasn't sure if her father would approve, and let her go on an official date with Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't care what Hiashi thought, he froze because he wasn't sure if he could defeat the Hyuuga clan head with his current level of strength. If Hiashi was to deny Sasuke the right to date Hinata then Sasuke wouldn't be able to do much.

"Yes I plan on taking Hinata on our first official date" Sasuke deadpanned looking into Hiashi's white eyes unflinchingly which secretly impressed Hiashi, but Sasuke wasn't finished.

"I'm sure that by now you've realized my infatuation with your daughter. She's one of my closest friends along with Neji and Naruto, but I care for her more than in a best friend kind of way. I want to court Hinata... Of course given our age, we won't be doing anything out of line. I want your permission if you don't mind Hiashi-sama" Sasuke finished giving Hiashi a slight bow.

All of the Hyuugas looked at Sasuke with varying forms of surprise.

Hizashi was surprised by the boy's boldness when talking to his older brother.

Neji was amazed that Sasuke talked so casually to his uncle. He had no ounce of fear in his voice.

Hiashi was impressed by Sasuke's resolve. No ordinary boy would speak to him unflinchingly while looking at him in the eye. This was also the first time since meeting Sasuke that he addressed him by his proper title.

Hinata was stunned that Sasuke would even ask her father for permission to date her. Sasuke had even admitted his feelings for her to him. She would've been touched if she wasn't so nervous.

Hanabi was surprised as well, but she was also the only one smiling. Sasuke admitted to liking her sister, that was enough for Hanabi. She hoped that her father will allow it.

When the stunned silence lasted more than 5 seconds, Sasuke cleared his throat and rose from his bowing position. This snapped all the Hyuuga's out of their trance instantly.

"Hmm I see. You are interested in courting my daughter... Are you sure about this? She is the heir to the entire Hyuuga clan, so if this so called 'relationship' were to last past 6 months then it would be considered a long term commitment Sasuke-san. At that point the council and I will have to make a betrothal contract. This is no game and if you're not serious about Hinata then you would be trapping both of you. You are young, don't you want more time to consider your future before you do something like this?" Hiashi asked while looking into Sasuke's eyes.

Internally Hiashi was nervous. He knew that Sasuke was logically a great choice for Hinata. The two kids had a genuine friendship for years and Sasuke was the heir to an equally Noble clan even if he was the only one left. Hiashi could even recall a conversation that he had with Fugaku Uchiha about possibly merging the bloodlines. Now that Sasuke was interested in dating his eldest, the prospect of merging the bloodlines became way more real for Hiashi even if they were still kids.

"I don't need anymore time to think about it, I've thought about my future enough, and I'm absolutely sure that I want Hinata in my future" Sasuke said immediately with no hesitation causing an intense blush to form on Hinata's face.

Hiashi knew Sasuke for 5 years as the boy had formed a close friendship with Hinata and Neji along with Naruto, but he himself had hardly formed any type of bond with Sasuke. He knew that he was strong and he trusted that Hinata would be safe, but he wasn't sure how he treated her when he wasn't watching.

"Neji, You are Hinata's protector. Do you trust Sasuke-san to be with Hinata?" Hiashi asked forcing all the attention on his nephew. Neji was surprised at being asked his opinion, but began to think to himself.

Neji wasn't surprised that Sasuke wanted Hinata. Spending most of the 5 years with them made Neji fully aware of the two's growing feelings for each other, and he often teases them with the help of Naruto. Neji respected Sasuke's strength and he knew he'd treat Hinata right. Neji also knew that if he said 'no' then Hinata would be devastated and Sasuke would kill him, so Neji's choice was obvious.

"Hiashi-sama I trust the Uchiha almost as much as I trust myself. He is a powerful fighter and he has proved his worth to me on numerous occasions. I believe that there couldn't be anyone better for Hinata-sama than him" Neji said with certainty, earning a small smirk from Sasuke and a wide smile from Hinata.

Hiashi ran his hand through his hair in thought.

"Hinata you know that our clan takes relationships seriously. If you want to start being courted by Sasuke-san and it makes it past the 6 month mark, it'll be a permanent thing. You can't back out of it, and it might even affect your current status as clan head considering Sasuke is the sole heir to the Uchiha clan. Are you sure that this is something you want" Hiashi said looking at his eldest daughter.

Hinata bit her lip nervously as she felt everyone's eyes on her. She looked around at everyone in attendance reading their faces.

Hanabi was looking at her with an excited smile on her face.

Neji had an intense look in his eyes, but he also had a small smirk on his face as if he knew what she would say.

Hizashi and Hiashi had twin stoic looks on their faces as they gazed at her.

Sasuke had the sincerest look in his eyes that Hinata had ever seen. Hinata could see the pure emotion in Sasuke's eyes and knew that he was serious about them. He would never abandon her.

"Yes Father this is what I want" Hinata said with certainty beaming at Sasuke who smirked back, not willing to smile in front of the Hyuuga head.

"Okay Hinata if you're sure then have fun on your date. Sasuke-san have her home before dinner time or we will come looking for you" Hiashi said before walking away.

Hizashi gave the two an approving look before following after his brother.

Sasuke walked up to Hinata and grabbed her hand leading her to the gates. Hinata waved at Neji and Hanabi as she left the Compound with Sasuke.

XxXxXx

Once they got out of the Hyuuga Compound, Hinata stopped walking making Sasuke stop too. Sasuke looked back at Hinata to see her looking down at her feet.

"Sasuke-kun you're sure about this? You have most of the girls our age in your fan club and some of them are even prettier than I am. If we end up betrothed you won't be able to back out. I don't want to be selfish and trap you into this" Hinata said as she looked up at Sasuke shocked at what she saw. Sasuke was giving her the biggest smile that she had ever seen him give.

"Hinata, I'm the one trapping you. I'm a very selfish person Hinata, you know that. You also know that if I wasn't sure about this then I wouldn't have ever bothered asking your father's permission. You worry too much" Sasuke said squeezing her hand while still smiling.

This was a new feeling for Sasuke as he had never been interested in any other female ever before. The 5 years that he's spent being with Hinata has been the best time of either of his lives. He honestly got to enjoy the childhood that was originally ripped away from him, and while Naruto and Neji played a large role in Sasuke's happiness; Hinata had given Sasuke a feeling he never experienced before.

He didn't know how to describe it, but he knew that no matter what the feeling was it made Sasuke want to be close to Hinata. He knew that no other female would ever understand him like Hinata did.

She was patient, quiet, understanding and compassionate. She didn't try to force Sasuke to do things he didn't want to do, and they could be comfortable with each other without talking all the time.

Hinata was the perfect type of girl for someone as damaged as he was. She may not of known about his past life and the sins he committed while he was trapped on the path of vengeance, but Sasuke knew that as long as Hinata was by his side, he'd never go down that path again.

All doubt vanished from Hinata's mind in that moment. She smiled back at Sasuke brightly and squeezed his hand back as the two continued walking.

"So where are we going for our first date?" Hinata asked curiously. She then blushed as her stomach grumbled. Sasuke just let out a soft chuckle.

"Well lets get something to eat first before we do anything else" Sasuke said pulling Hinata towards Ichiraku's.

Sasuke wasn't the biggest lover of Ramen, but that was the closest place, and they served their food extremely fast. Judging by the sound Hinata's stomach just made, he knew she would appreciate the quick service.

XxXxXx

When they arrived, Sasuke wasn't surprised to see Naruto already there enjoying his 4th bowl of Ramen. Sasuke took the seat right next to his best friend and Hinata sat next to him.

After ordering his and Hinata's food, he acknowledged Naruto.

"Good morning Loser."

"Good morning Bastard. You wasn't at the house when I woke up, so I decided to get Ramen for breakfast. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked before spotting Hinata, and then spotting their connected hands. Naruto let a sly grin show on his face as he realized they were together.

Now Naruto was dense when it came to most things, but he realized that his two close friends had feelings for each other since the day they all started spending time with each other. Hinata was the only one that Sasuke never got annoyed with, and conversely Hinata always gave Sasuke the brightest smile.

Naruto and Neji always teased them about it, but now that it was actually official, Naruto couldn't help but to be excited.

"Wait a minute Sasuke. Did you finally grow some balls and ask Hinata out?" Naruto asked smirking at Sasuke.

Sasuke gave a him a warning glance before nodding his head. Naruto, however, did not heed the warning, and preceded to tease the new couple.

"Hinata-chan did Sasuke tell you how nervous he was for your date today. Sasuke was talking to himself all last night. He was pacing back and forth and he kept murmuring something about the 'perfect day'. I didn't know what he was talking about then, but now I understand" Naruto said laughing.

His laughs stopped instantly when he saw red eyes glaring at him. He quickly ate the last bit of his Ramen before placing money on the counter and slowly backing out of Ichiraku's.

"Well I'd love to stay and hang out with you 2 lovebirds, but I just remembered that I have to go train with Neji. Bye" Naruto said quickly before he disappeared.

Sasuke let his eyes return to their natural onyx color before turning to look at Hinata who had a smirk on her face.

"So you were nervous all of last night huh?" Hinata asked trying to conceal a chuckle.

"Uh... look the foods here" Sasuke responded as their food was placed in front of them. Hinata knew he was dodging her question, but she didn't really care as she was content to just enjoy her breakfast with Sasuke.

XxXxXx

Naruto was still running from Sasuke when he noticed Neji and Hanabi. They both had their Byakugan active and they were staring in the direction he had just ran from. Naruto was naturally curious so he walked towards the two Hyuuga.

"What are you guys doing?" Naruto asked shocking both Hyuuga into deactivating their Byakugan. They both looked at Naruto with guilty expressions on their faces, as if they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"YOU'RE SPYING ON SASUKE AND HINATA!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Neither Hyuuga denied the accusation, so Naruto continued.

"How could you guys do something like that without inviting me? I wanna see how this goes too guys!" Naruto said causing both Neji and Hanabi to smirk.

"Well since you don't have a Byakugan we'll have to get closer to them, but we have to be quiet. If Sasuke suspects that we're watching them then there will be consequences. I for one don't want to deal with an angry Uchiha" Neji said plainly.

"Yeah especially since you got your butt kicked by a happy Sasuke this morning" Hanabi said teasing her older cousin.

Neji ignored the girl and activated his Byakugan to see where the two currently were. He noticed Sasuke put money down on the table and grab Hinata's hand.

"They're done eating and are about to leave. We have to move if we're going to keep up with them. Remember be stealthy" Neji commanded. Naruto and Hanabi nodded before all 3 took off in the direction of Sasuke and Hinata.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Hinata were walking hand in hand down the streets of Konoha. They were talking about Hinata's medical ninjutsu when Sasuke saw Team 10 eyeballing them.

Hinata noticed too and waved over towards their former classmates with her free hand. Sasuke just nodded at them in acknowledgement. Shikamaru and Choji returned the nod and Ino was about to wave until she noticed what Sasuke and Hinata were doing.

"Sasuke-kun why are you so close to Hinata? And why are you holding her hand like that?" Ino asked confused.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in realization before he smirked at Sasuke who smirked back at the cloud watcher.

Sasuke could tolerate Shikamaru more than anyone else in the Rookie Nine besides Hinata and his teammates.

"Ino don't be troublesome. Have fun on your date you guys" Shikamaru said waving his hand lazily.

Ino didn't know if she wanted to cry or cheer for the couple, so she settled for stunned silence.

Choji just munched away at his favorite chips happily as he watched the two walk away.

When they were out of sight Ino sighed sadly.

"So I guess Sasuke-kun is officially off the market huh?" She said to her 2 teammates.

Choji looked at Shikamaru uncomfortably. The Nara just shrugged and put his hands behind his head.

"Honestly Ino, there are at least 15 other boys our age. Get over it" Shikamaru said trying to help only to receive a punch to the head "Ouch what was that for?" He yelped.

"That's for being insensitive" Ino said before turning away so her friends couldn't see the blush and smile that was appearing on her face.

XxXxXx

Kakashi was currently at a restaurant with the other Jonin squad leaders. Kurenai and Asuma were sitting pretty close to one another on one side of the booth, while he was stuck next to his best friend Might Gai.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival and best friend, after this breakfast lets have our competition. Its currently 48-47 and I'm eager to even the score" Gai said giving a thumbs up and a blinding smile.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but saw something that made his eyes twinkle in mischief.

"Kurenai take a look out the window. You'll see something quite interesting" Kakashi said signaling to the window.

Kurenai looked out the window and was surprised to see Sasuke and Hinata hand in hand walking through the streets of Konoha. She let a giant smile grace her face before whispering something to Asuma and getting up. She looked at Kakashi.

"You coming?" Kurenai asked gesturing towards the door. Kakashi looked offended.

"Are you suggesting that we spy on our student's first date together?" The copy nin asked.

Kurenai simply raised her eyebrow causing Kakashi to smile beneath the mask.

"Yeah you're right lets go" Kakashi said as he and Kurenai left the restaurant to spy on their students.

"Don't you love the youth!? Love is in the air don't you agree?" Gai asked Asuma.

Asuma just sweat-dropped and asked for the waiter to bring him the check.

XxXxXx

Neji, Naruto, and Hanabi were hiding behind a tree watching Sasuke and Hinata sit on a park bench. It had been hours since their date had started. The couple hasn't done anything exciting and it was almost dinnertime so the date would have to end soon.

They were laughing and smiling about something, but they weren't close enough to hear it. A fact that Naruto was very agitated about since he was curious to find out what could possibly make Sasuke laugh.

"Dammit I can't hear a thing" Naruto complained.

"What are you guys doing?" Everyone jumped at Sakura's voice.

' _ **That's the second time someone managed to sneak up on me with my Byakugan activated. This is getting annoying'**_ Neji thought grumpily as he deactivated his Byakugan but he froze as he saw the pink haired girl next to Naruto.

"Who a-are you?" Neji asked the pink haired girl unable to contain his stutter.

Hanabi and Naruto eyes both went wide when they heard Neji stutter. It was so uncommon that they completely took their attention off of Sasuke and Hinata.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, Naruto and Sasuke's teammate and you are."

"Neji Hyuuga."

"Oh I've heard so much about you from Naruto and Sasuke. You don't seem like the idiot Naruto describes you as" Sakura said smiling.

Neji glared at Naruto who smiled sheepishly. Neji rolled his eyes deciding to deal with him later.

"Well you know how Naruto is mentally troubled. I'm actually very smart. By the way I like your hair, Pink is an unique hair color, but it looks good on you" Neji said casually before realizing what he said and blushing.

Sakura was blushing too. Naruto and Hanabi watched the two interact with evil smirks on their faces. It was nice knowing that Neji had something that they could tease him about, but they were on a mission.

"Nii-san if you're done blushing we have to check on Hinata and Sasuke" Hanabi said.

Sakura let out a quiet gasp before peaking around the tree that they were all hiding behind. She let out a quiet squeal when she noticed that Sasuke and Hinata were talking on the park bench. They were holding hands and Sasuke had the most relaxed look that Sakura had ever seen on his face.

"Aww look at them. They look so cute together" Sakura said sighing.

"I agree" The voice of Kakashi said causing both Naruto and Sakura to shriek in surprise and look up.

They saw Kakashi and Kurenai standing on one of the branches of the tree that they were hiding behind.

"How long were you standing there?" Neji asked irritably once again cursing his Byakugan for not alerting him.

"We've been here since before you guys arrived. I'm surprised that you two didn't see us with your Byakugan's" Kakashi said casually, causing both Hyuuga prodigies to glare at the Copy nin.

"Kaka-sensei why are you here? And why is Hinata's sensei here with you? Are you on a date?" Naruto asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

"No. We're simply checking on our students first date, nothing more" Kurenai responded before Kakashi could let out a perverted comment.

Naruto sighed in relief.

"That's good. I thought for a moment that I was the only one left on Team 7 that was single" Naruto said. Kakashi's visible eye widened before looking at Sakura who looked just as surprised.

"Who I am dating Naruto?" Sakura asked before Kakashi could question her.

"I see how red faced you get every time you try to sneak a look at Neji-baka. It's obvious that you like him, and he likes you too because you made him stutter. I'm a ninja so you can't expect me not to notice these things" Naruto said matter of factly nodding to himself.

Neji and Sakura's jaw dropped simultaneously before twin blushes spread on their cheeks. Neji dispersed his blush first and activated his Byakugan menacingly.

"Sometimes you talk too much Naruto" Neji said while swinging at Naruto. Naruto dodged and summoned 4 shadow clones who all tried to tackle Neji.

"Guys..." Hanabi said trying to interrupt.

Neji easily defeated the shadow clones and tried to attack Naruto again, but he was stopped by Kakashi who grabbed his wrist saying something about fighting later. Naruto laughed only to get hit in the back of the head by Sakura's fist.

"Guys..." Hanabi tried again.

Kurenai grabbed Sakura who looked like she was going to try to destroy Naruto, who was twitching on the ground with a bump on his head.

"GUYS" Hanabi said finally getting everyone's attention.

"Sasuke and Hinata have left and they're out of range of my Byakugan" Hanabi said.

Neji focused his Byakugan on the surrounding areas and saw the Chakra of Sasuke and Hinata side by side sitting on the top of the Hokage Mountain.

"I see them. They're sitting on top of the Hokage Mountain, there's a thick forest behind them so we'll have plenty places to hide" Neji said.

The others agreed before taking off towards the mountain.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Hinata were sitting enjoying each other's presence. Hinata was eating the cinnamon roll that Sasuke had bought for her on their way to the mountain and Sasuke was munching on a tomato.

They had spent the whole day together and Hinata had enjoyed herself immensely. They didn't act much different then they usually did, the only difference was that Sasuke was giving her more warm looks and smiles publicly. Hinata definitely didn't mind the change.

"Sasuke-kun" Hinata said looking at Sasuke with a smile on her face. Sasuke turned to Hinata with a small smile of his own.

"Hinata" Sasuke replied simply.

The two were lost in each other's eyes for a moment before Hinata cleared her throat and looked away.

"I've had a lot of fun today. Thank you for taking me out on a date and thank you for being my friend" Hinata said sincerely.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in shock. He didn't understand why Hinata was thanking him for being her friend. Hinata had no clue that she had saved him in more ways than one.

Even when Sasuke was first sent back to the past, he had no intention of getting close to anyone other than Naruto. Sasuke was grateful that he befriended Hinata, she'll play a huge role in future events; Sasuke was sure of it.

"Hn. Don't thank me for something I should be thanking you for. You along with the loser and Neji saved me from my loneliness. You have saved me in ways you'll probably never know Hinata" Sasuke said looking deep into Hinata's eyes.

Hinata blushed, but didn't look away from Sasuke's intense gaze. Over the years Sasuke, along with Naruto and Neji, had helped her get over her overwhelming shyness, and had trained her to be stronger.

She didn't receive much physical love from her father, but she could tell that he was proud of her progress in power, and she had Sasuke and the others to thank for that.

Sasuke and Hinata's thoughts were consumed of the other as they unconsciously leaned towards one another. They was barely a breath between them as their eyes closed and they simultaneously closed the gap between them.

Their lips met and for the first time since before the massacre, Sasuke felt completely at peace.

They were both inexperienced as it was both of their first kiss. Sasuke refused to acknowledge Naruto as his first kiss, and that was a whole lifetime ago.

The contact didn't last as long as either of them would've liked because they were interrupted by a voice screaming.

"WAY TO GO SASUKE YOU ACTUALLY KISSED HER! BELIEVE IT" Naruto shouted revealing the himself.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he sensed the area for anymore spies, instantly finding the chakra of Sakura, Hanabi, Kurenai, Neji and Kakashi. Sasuke felt his eyes bleed red in irritation.

He looked at Hinata whose face was redder than he ever seen it before. Sasuke didn't even get the chance to say anything becasue Hinata fainted before he could think of something to say.

Sasuke was worried about his girlfriend, but he was also grateful that wasn't she going to be conscious to witness the carnage that was about to happen.

"Everyone come out, I know you're there" Sasuke commanded.

Everyone came out and glared at Naruto who had gotten them all caught. They were all nervous at what Sasuke's reaction would be to their spying.

Sasuke was trying to be mad at the people who had been spying on them, but he found that after kissing Hinata, he couldn't find it in himself to be mad at anyone. He sighed and deactivated his Sharingan.

"Neji, Hanabi, come here and grab Hinata. Make sure that she wakes up before you reach the Compound. I dont't want Hiashi suspecting any funny business" Sasuke said to the Hyuugas.

Neji hesitated for a moment before walking closer to Sasuke and grabbing Hinata. He nodded at Sasuke before he and Hanabi left going towards the Hyuuga Compound.

Kakashi and Kurenai had already disappeared not wanting to deal with an angry Sasuke.

Naruto and Sakura looked at their teammate sheepishly before Sasuke spoke.

"Lets go have a team dinner. I need to explain to you guys why its a bad idea to spy on me" Sasuke said walking away.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other in worry before following him.

XxXxXx

During the entire dinner Sasuke berated his teammates about their stupidity, but the whole time he was scolding Naruto and Sakura, he was thinking about his day with Hinata. Especially the kiss that they shared.

' _ **Hn. I can get used to this'**_ Sasuke thought as he continued to chew out his teammates.

 **TBC**

 **That concludes the SasuHina date chapter. I hope that everyone liked it**

 **XLiese Altairx- Thank you for your Review and I agree with you. Toneri will be in for a rude awakening**

 **Nevvy- Thank you for liking this fic**

 **Please continue to Read and Review this fic. Don't be afraid to give me criticism if there's something you think could be better. I appreciate all feedback**


	7. The Land Of Waves

**Chapter 7**

2 weeks after Sasuke and Hinata's first date, Team 7 assembled in the Hokage's office. Naruto was complaining about the quality of missions that they were receiving.

"Come on Gramps why can't we get sent on any real missions? I'm tired of finding cats and other simple tasks like that, I need some real action. How am I ever going to become Hokage if you keep making me do these simple things that academy kids could do" Naruto complained. Hiruzen sighed.

"Naruto-kun you do those missions because those are the missions that Genin are expected to do. D-rank missions may not be the most exciting, but they still need to get done" He said with a tempered tone.

Naruto made a face and was prepared to say something else when he was suddenly grabbed by Kakashi. The masked nin gave Naruto a stern look before turning towards the Hokage.

"With all do respect Hokage-sama, I believe that my team is more than qualified for a C-rank mission. A trip outside of the village will be a great experience for them, besides you already sent Kurenai's team on a C-rank mission, so it's only fair" Kakashi said.

Naruto beamed at Kakashi and looked towards the Hokage with excitement. Sakura had a nervous smile on her face. Sasuke just gave a smirk knowing what was coming. Hiruzen just sighed again before relenting.

"If you say that they're ready then there's no reason to deny them a higher rank mission. How about I give you one right now?" Hiruzen asked before clapping his hands. A door opened revealing a old man who appeared to be drunk. He stumbled into the room with a bottle in his hand and gave everybody a look.

"This is Tazuna. He's a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He needs to be escorted back to his village so that he can finish the construction of a bridge. See that he gets there safely" Hiruzen ordered. Team 7 nodded and were walking towards the door, but the man's voice had everyone turn to him.

"Wait you're going to have 3 kids on this mission. I don't think they're qualified for a mission like this. Especially the short boy there" Tazuna said arrogantly.

Naruto began to laugh before remembering that Sasuke was taller than him, and Sakura was definitely not a boy. His face then turned red in embarrassment. Kakashi quickly grabbed Naruto before he could lunge at Tazuna.

"How dare you insult me. Don't you know that I'm the future Hokage!? I can handle something as simple as escorting your drunk old butt to your stupid village" Naruto said struggling against Kakashi's grip.

"Now, now Naruto, it wouldn't be right if we injure our client" Kakashi advised while still keeping Naruto away from Tazuna.

"Yeah well we'll see. Don't blame me if you get hurt" Tazuna said finishing the rest of his bottle.

"I assure that this group will get you to your home safely" Hiruzen said trying to diffuse the situation.

"Enough idle chat, lets get this mission started. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back" Sasuke said plainly. He was inwardly excited for his rematch with Haku. Kakashi heard this and couldn't resist the opportunity to tease his favorite student.

"Oh calm down Sasuke, I'm sure we won't be gone too long. You'll be back here with Hinata before you know it" Kakashi said with a teasing smile behind his mask.

Sasuke blushed a little, much to the amusement of everyone in the room, but before Naruto could say something to add to Sasuke's flustered state; Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glared daggers at Kakashi.

Even Hiruzen had to admit that Sasuke had an impressive glare for a 13 year old.

"Alright lets get going, see you Hokage-sama" Kakashi said while walking out of the room a little faster than necessary.

Naruto and Sakura laughed before following their sensei. Tazuna was looking at Sasuke with amazement, but when Sasuke's red glare reached him, he decided to follow the others out of the room.

Sasuke looked at the Hokage, and deactivated his Sharingan.

"Thank you for the mission" Sasuke said simply. Then he turned and walked out of the Hokage's office leaving behind the amused Sarutobi.

XxXxXx

While Team 7 and Tazuna were walking out of the village they ran into Team 8 who were just returning from their own mission. They all stopped to acknowledge each other.

"Hey Kakashi where is your team going?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh we're just escorting this man to the Land Of Waves, nothing major" Kakashi replied casually.

While the Jonin were talking, all the Genin engaged in their own conversation.

"Hey guys!" Kiba said loudly addressing Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. Ever since Hinata and Sasuke began dating officially weeks prior, Team 7 and Team 8 spent a lot of time together. They often ate together at Ichiraku's and sparred together on a few occasions; they've all become friends.

"Hey Kiba" Naruto said just as loudly as he pet Akamaru. Sakura gave a quieter 'hi' and Sasuke just nodded silently.

Hinata gave Sakura and Naruto hugs before going to hug Sasuke. When the embrace ended she stayed by his side and Sasuke wrapped his arm around her.

"How did your mission go Hinata?" Sasuke asked just loud enough for Hinata to hear.

"It was easy. There were no unexpected complications and we got our mission done on time. Where are you guys going?" Hinata replied resting her head on Sasuke's shoulder while asking her own question.

"Just taking this drunk bum to the Land of Waves, nothing major" Sasuke replied ignoring the look Tazuna gave him and mocking Kakashi. Hinata giggled before she noticed something moving on Sasuke's other shoulder.

"Sasuke look" Hinata said pointing at his shoulder and giving him a bright smile. Sasuke looked at his shoulder to see a beetle. Sasuke looked confused for a moment and tensed his hand as if he was going to squash the bug.

Feeling Sasuke's hand tense, Hinata quickly grabbed it and intertwined their fingers to stop him. Sasuke looked at Hinata with mild annoyance, but didn't take his hand away from hers. He raised his eyebrow in the way that Hinata knew meant 'explain'.

"Its Shino's guard bug. That means he's going to be watching over you too!" Hinata said with clear enthusiasm.

Sasuke gave a look of understanding as he looked for Shino. He found the bug lover standing next to Naruto, Sakura and Kiba, but neither of them seemed to notice his presence. Sasuke didn't think that the Aburame's protection was necessary, but he did want to thank him for the gesture.

"Thank you Shino" Sasuke said genuinely. Shino turned to him and gave him a small nod.

"No need to thank me. Just come back safely" Shino responded.

Sasuke didn't remember interacting much with Shino in his old life, but he's realizing that the bug lover wasn't annoying and he was actually tolerable. He was probably the only one in the rookie nine that was quieter than Sasuke himself, and based on the sparring sessions he was a strong fighter for a Genin. Sasuke decided to trust him for an important task.

"Shino I need you to protect Hinata. Naruto and I are going on a mission, and Neji is already on a mission. You're the only other person I trust to keep Hinata safe. Do you think that you can do that for me?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't even need to ask, I was going to do that anyway" Shino replied casually causing Sasuke to smirk at him.

"Okay everyone we're leaving now" Kakashi announced.

Naruto and Sakura said their goodbyes to Team 8. Sasuke nodded at Kiba and Shino, then poked Hinata's forehead. Hinata pouted causing Sasuke to chuckle quietly and kiss the spot that he poked.

"Stay safe" Hinata said blushing.

"Hn. Of course. Don't worry we'll be back soon enough" Sasuke said while he was walking away.

XxXxXx

When they were a good distance from the village Sakura and Naruto decided to tease Sasuke.

"I saw you kiss Hinata's forehead Bastard. Why didn't you kiss her lips, you looked like a total whimp in front of everyone" Naruto teased before Sakura smacked the back of his head.

"Shut up Naruto! That's improper. I think that you and Hinata's relationship is so cute Sasuke-kun, but do you always kiss her before either of you go on missions?" Sakura asked with a sly smile trying to sound innocent.

Sasuke simply ignored his teammates as he looked down and saw a puddle. Sasuke sighed knowing that Kakashi saw it too and was going to test them. Sasuke didn't find any amusement in Kakashi's games.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and felt the chakra of the Demon Brothers closing in on Kakashi. Sasuke rolled his eyes and gathered a little bit of his Chakra.

" **FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU."**

Sasuke sent mini fireballs at both of the Demon Brothers who had jumped out of their hiding spots with the intention of ambushing Kakashi. Both brothers were struck by the fire and were knocked back in surprise.

Sakura instantly took a kunai out and stood in front of Tazuna in order to protect him, Kakashi stayed still and watched. When Naruto noticed the enemy ninja, he smirked.

"You picked the wrong group to attack, I'm the future Hokage" Naruto said boldly forming the hand signs for his favorite jutsu.

" **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU"** Naruto shouted as 200 Naruto clones surrounded each of the Demon Brothers.

The fight was supremely one sided and the end result left the two missing nin tied against a tree. Kakashi was impressed that his team handled the situation so well.

"Sakura, good job getting in front of Tazuna to protect him. The client is always the most important thing of the mission. Naruto, good job apprehending the attackers. These were Chunin level missing nin from kirigakure, so the fact that you took them down means that you're developing well. Sasuke, way to notice their presence. They masked their chakra pretty well for Chunin, the fact that you were able to detect them is great" Kakashi said praising his team with a smile on his masked face.

Then he turned to the nervous looking Tazuna with a stern face.

"Mind explaining what these two were doing attacking an bridge builder, and why this is only categorized as a C-rank mission?" Kakashi asked unamused.

Tazuna broke down and explained how Gato, an evil businessman, didn't want the bridge to finish construction and had hired assassins to kill him. He also explained how he didn't have enough money to pay for the mission to be any higher than a C-rank mission.

Kakashi sighed and looked at his team. The difficulty of the mission just increased exponentially, but Kakashi wasn't too worried because of how well his team responded to the Demon Brothers ambush. He had faith that they would be ready for any obstacles headed their way.

"Well kids, this just became an A-rank mission. Do you want to continue this mission and help Tazuna out?" Kakashi asked his team.

Sakura had a determined look on her face as she nodded. Naruto's excited squeal was all the confirmation that Kakashi needed to know that he was continuing the mission. Sasuke had a bored expression on his face as he gave a nod.

"Then it's settled. Tazuna we'll escort you to your village and protect you until the bridge has finished construction" Kakashi said.

Tazuna gave a grateful nod and the group continued walking, but now they were all on high alert.

XxXxXx

When they neared a lake, Kakashi and Sasuke both stopped. They noticed the presence of a powerful shinobi at nearly the same time. Sensing that he was discovered the man threw his sword into a tree and appeared on top of it.

"Hm leaf shinobi. I have no quarrel with you, but if you don't hand over the bridge builder then I'll kill you all" the man said. He had bandages wrapped around his face and neck, he had a Hidden Mist head protector on with a line scratched out in the middle, but the most importantly he had a gigantic blade.

Kakashi raised his headband revealing his Sharingan. He knew who this man was because of him having the executioner's blade and he knew that he had to take this fight seriously.

"Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, One of the Seven Ninja Swordsman. Gato must be very rich if he managed to employ a shinobi of your caliber" Kakashi said addressing the man.

"Kids stay back and guard Tazuna, this man is far too powerful for any of you to handle. He's killed many without remorse, including children" Kakashi said warning his team.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan, known to have copied over a thousand different jutsu. It is an honor to run into you, and it will be an honor to kill you as well" Zabuza said charging at Kakashi.

Sasuke watched as the battle played out exactly as it did in his previous life. The Mist was as thick as he remembered, but he could still see the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza. He smirked to himself when he saw that Kakashi was trapped in the Water Prison jutsu.

"Naruto, Sakura come here I have a plan" Sasuke said. Naruto ran over to his best friend and listened to his plan before smiling widely. Sakura just nodded, she had faith in Sasuke's plan.

Unaware of the plotting Genin, Zabuza was content on mocking the recently captured Kakashi.

"Well Kakashi, it seems like you've been trapped. Now you'll have to watch as I kill you're team and your client" Zabuza as he created a Water clone and sent it to attack Team 7. Noticing the clone headed towards them, Sakura ran right in front of Tazuna in order to protect him.

"Don't bother wasting your time protecting me, save yourself" Tazuna said not willing to watch a little girl die in order to save him.

"Don't worry about me, just watch this" Sakura said with a determined look gripping the two giant shuriken she had in her hand.

The Zabuza clone advanced towards Sakura and Tazuna while looking around. He noticed that the two other brats were missing, but he soon shrugged. He decided that if they ran away, then it saved him the trouble of killing them.

"Alright girl, step aside now and I promise that I'll kill you quickly" the Zabuza clone said. He stopped to dodge the two shuriken that Sakura had thrown at him. He was about to gloat when he realized that the shuriken were heading straight towards the real Zabuza with deadly accuracy.

The real Zabuza watched as the two shuriken headed towards him. He wasn't worried about the two shuriken in the slightest and even lifted up his free hand as if he was going to catch them, then his eyes widened when he saw the Shuriken transform into the two brats from Kakashi's team.

Sasuke and Naruto gave Zabuza twin smirks before beginning their assault on him. They kicked him in the air instantly dispelling the water trap on Kakashi, and they continued to kick him until they flipped over Zabuza in order to complete their twin attack.

" **UZUMAKI BARRAGE."**

" **LION'S BARRAGE."**

Zabuza covered his face as Sasuke's kick and Naruto's punch sent him soaring back towards the lake at an incredible speed resulting in a giant splash.

By the time Zabuza recovered and reached the surface he saw that Kakashi had already defeated his Water clone and that he and the two kids that attacked him were standing there waiting for him. Never one to give up, Zabuza began to weave signs for his Jutsu unaware that he was being copied.

" **WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON JUTSU"** Kakashi and Zabuza both shouted at the same time causing twin water dragons to erupt from the lake and crash into each other. Kakashi then sent another powerful water jutsu that launched Zabuza into a nearby tree.

Zabuza gasped in pain and the tree splintered from the force. He then felt 4 kunai dig into his skin rendering him immobile. He looked to the side to see Kakashi on nearby tree branch with a kunai in his hand.

"This is your last battle... ever" Kakashi said as he prepared to end the man's life, but he never got the chance as 2 senbon penetrated Zabuza's neck seemingly killing him.

Kakashi looked over to the adjacent tree branch to see a ninja in a mask with his arm still out, signifying that they were the one to do it.

"Thank you for weakening him enough for me to finish him off. I'm taking his body back to the Mist village" the smooth feminine voice said simply before taking Zabuza's body and disappearing from sight.

Naruto and Sakura were surprised and didn't know whether or not they should give chase. Sasuke was holding himself back from chasing Haku. Their fight would come soon and Sasuke was itching for the rematch. Kakashi just seemed satisfied that the fight was over.

He turned and smiled at his team. He was about to say something, but collapsed due to overstraining his Sharingan. Sasuke rolled his eyes and caught Kakashi's body before he hit the ground. He had forgotten about how low Kakashi's stamina was during his childhood. During the war, Kakashi had his Sharingan active the entire battle, and had even managed to keep his Mangekyou active for a decent amount of time.

"Lets get him to my house, it's not far from here. And thank you for saving me... All of you" Tazuna said with an apologetic glance towards Naruto.

"No problem old man Tazuna, its my duty as future Hokage keep the client safe no matter what, Believe It" Naruto said ignoring the looks that Sakura and Sasuke gave him. Tazuna smiled and began to lead the kids to his house.

XxXxXx

When they arrived, they were greeted by Tazuna's daughter Tsunami, and his grandson Inari.

"Grandpa you're back" Inari said excitedly before noticing the group of people with him. "Who are they?" Inari asked rudely pointing at Team 7.

"They are the shinobi that saved me from certain death, and they're going to stay here and continue to protect us until I finish the construction of the bridge" Tazuna said rubbing his grandson's head.

Inari assessed every member of Team 7 individually. The girl didn't seem like she would be able to protect herself, let alone anyone else. The silver haired one was passed out on the black haired boy's back, so he obviously wasn't strong enough to protect them. The black haired boy looked cool, and seemed to be strong because he was carrying the grown man, but looks could be deceiving so Inari wasn't impressed. The blonde haired boy just looked stupid to him.

"They don't look all that impressive. Especially the blonde kid with the whiskers" Inari said rudely while crossing his arms instantly angering Naruto.

"Hey Kid take that back. Do you know what kind of battle we just endured? And do you know who I am?" Naruto asked. Inari just shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter. You won't be able to defeat anyone who actually matters. If father failed then you will too. You might as well go home" Inari responded sticking his tongue out at Naruto who looked like he was ready to strangle the kid. Even Sakura had a vein protruding from her forehead. Sasuke simply ignored the kid and sat Kakashi down on the mat that Tazuna had set for him.

"Inari apologize. These shinobi protected your grandfather and are going to protect us as well. Be grateful that they're here to help us out" Tsunami said scolding her son.

"Psh whatever. Sorry I guess" Inari said walking out of the room.

"Sorry about Inari's behavior. He's been a different kid ever since his step father Kaiza was killed by Gato. He means well, but he's just lost hope that things will be any different" Tsunami said trying to explain Inari's rude behavior.

"It's no problem. His words didn't bother anyone, now can you please show us to our room?" Sasuke asked. Tsunami nodded with a smile and led Sasuke to the room.

' _ **Speak for yourself'**_ Naruto and Sakura thought in unison as they followed Sasuke and Tsunami to their room.

XxXxXx

The next day Kakashi woke up and addressed his team.

"I like the way you guys handled the situation with Zabuza. I'm glad that I can depend on you guys when I'm in a tough situation, but we still need to go train. I have a feeling that we'll need to fight him again soon" Kakashi said while standing up grabbing his crutches.

Sasuke remembered the type of training Kakashi gave them at this point, and he was not looking forward to wasting time walking up trees. Once they arrived at the training fields, Kakashi was explaining how imperative it was to learn how to control chakra. He walked up a tree and hung upside down to show an example of chakra control. Naruto just looked at him in confusion.

"Kaka-sensei how does walking up trees help us fight Zabuza?" Naruto asked.

"If you master this then you can master any jutsu now enough questions, begin!" Kakashi said as he looked at his 3 students.

"This is waste of time, but whatever" Sasuke said as he casually walked up the tree and stood next to Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged before following Sasuke's example.

Kakashi's visible eye widened in shock as he saw his pupils all standing next to him upside down on the tree branch.

"Now can we master any jutsu? Naruto asked excitedly as he jumped up and down on the branch causing Kakashi to sweat drop.

"Eh not quite we also have to find out your chakra affinities so that we can know what Jutsu to teach you" Kakashi said as he walked back down the tree with his team following him step for step.

"How do we do that?" Naruto asked curiously eager to learn different jutsu.

"We have to wait until we return to the village to get the materials. You guys are more advanced than I thought you were" Kakashi complimented.

"Well you're always late for training, so we work on things while you're not there. We also train in the Uchiha District with Team 8 and Neji-kun from time to time. It's only natural that we'd progress" Sakura said blushing after mentioning Neji's name.

Naruto was about to tease Sakura, but Sasuke beat him to it.

"Your face matches your hair Sakura. Don't tell me you like the Hyuuga" Sasuke said bluntly but the teasing was obvious in his tone.

Everyone's jaw dropped at Sasuke teasing Sakura, but Naruto quickly recovered and joined in.

"Yeah Sakura-chan. First the Bastard, and now Neji-baka? You must really like people with strange eye abilities" Naruto said laughing ignoring the glare from Sasuke.

Naruto was laughing so hard that he didn't notice the approaching shadow until it was to late. Sakura had punched Naruto so hard that he broke through the tree that they had just walked down. Naruto was hurt, but not severely and rubbed the bump on his head. He looked over to see that Sasuke was looking at him with an evil smirk.

"Hey that's no fair Sakura-chan. Why didn't you hit Sasuke too?" Naruto asked pouting.

"I tried, but he dodged me. You were an easier target" Sakura replied with the vein still visible in her forehead.

Kakashi just laughed at his teams antics before he joined the conversation himself.

"I remember when we were spying on Sasuke and Hinata's first date. You and Neji were hiding together. You both had identical blushes on your faces and you didn't even talk to each other. It was pretty cute if you ask me" Kakashi said smiling as Sakura's face turned a darker shade of pink than her hair.

"Can we please stop talking about this" Sakura asked trying to escape the teasing. Kakashi was about to refuse, but when he looked at Sasuke he got another idea.

"Sure. Sasuke how's your relationship with Hinata?" Kakashi asked trying to sound innocent. Sasuke frowned at the change in the discussion topic, but decided to answer.

"It's fine. It'll be a month in 2 weeks so I'd like to be done with this mission by then" Sasuke said.

' _ **Awwww'**_ Sakura thought when she heard Sasuke say that. She wanted to say something about how sweet that was, but she knew better than to do that around Sasuke. Kakashi, however, didn't care.

"Aww that's so cute Sasuke, you must really like her huh?" Kakashi said teasingly. Sasuke's eyes turned red almost instantly after hearing the word 'Aww'. He kicked Kakashi's injured leg which led to a shriek of pain from the Jonin.

Naruto and Sakura laughed as Kakashi hopped around on 1 foot.

"Alright kids our training is done. Dinner is in an hour so be there when it starts" Kakashi said hobbling away from his team. Sakura took a few steps to follow Kakashi, but stopped when she realized Naruto and Sasuke weren't moving.

"Aren't you guys coming?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, go ahead without us Sakura-chan. We'll be at Tazuna's for dinner don't worry" Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke just nodded.

Sakura didn't even question them. She was too used to them training alone, so she simply smiled and followed Kakashi back to Tazuna.

XxXxXx

Once they were alone, Sasuke led Naruto into the nearby woods. He had told Naruto that they were going to train, but Sasuke had another reason for going. After arriving he noticed that his reason for going was already there with a basket in their hands; Sasuke stopped moving and simply stared.

Naruto wondered what Sasuke was staring at so he turned to look in the same direction. Naruto's jaw dropped as he saw the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Naruto looked at every angle of the person holding the basket in front of them. From their hair to their toes the person was pure perfection in Naruto's eyes.

Feeling that they were being watched, the person turned to the two boys.

"Hello I'm Haku, what are your names and what are you doing out here in the woods?" Haku said with an angelic voice that made Naruto feel like he was flying.

"I'm N-Naruto U-Uzumaki and uh, we, umm training, ya know" Naruto said with a dark blush on his face fumbling with his words. Sasuke turned to look at his best friend with an eyebrow raised, while Haku chuckled making Naruto blush even more.

"Sasuke and what the idiot was trying to say is that we're out here for training" Sasuke said still looking at Naruto's flustered face.

"Training huh? You must be Shinobi...yes I can tell by your headbands. That's a dangerous lifestyle you're living, but I'm sure you already know that. Do you two want to know the way to obtain true power?" Haku asked.

Sasuke was geniunely surprised. He wasn't around for Haku and Naruto's meeting in his first life, he had come a little after Haku left and walked straight past her without a second glance. She didn't seem like the bad person he originally thought she was.

"What is it?" Naruto asked with curiosity.

"True power comes from having someone to protect. They give you strength when you need it the most" Haku said with certainty in her voice.

Naruto smiled and nodded when she said that. He agreed whole heartedly that having people to protect can make a person stronger.

Sasuke was surprised that Haku thought that, but then he thought back to when she died in his past life. She jumped in front of Kakashi's Chidori in order to protect Zabuza. He had heard from Naruto on the return to the village all about how Haku was misjudged and that she really wanted peace, but Sasuke ignored him because she didn't seem real peaceful when she was trying to turn him into a human porcupine.

Still Sasuke couldn't help, but find truth in Haku's statement. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he always felt stronger when he was fighting for someone else. Sasuke was starting to rethink his plan to kill Haku. She was proving to be a victim of circumstance... Just like he was.

"You're right. That definitely does give a large boost in power, but I have a question" Sasuke said causing Haku to look at him.

"What is your purpose in life?" Sasuke asked looking right into Haku's eyes.

"I live to protect my master. I will go wherever he goes and serve him; I'll gladly give my life if it means that he will live on and achieve his goals" Haku said without hesitation.

Naruto pouted a little when he heard that. Never being one to hold his tongue, he vocalized his thoughts.

"So is the 'master' of yours like your boyfriend or something?" Naruto asked internally wishing that she'd say no.

"No he's actually more like an older brother or a father figure. I'm only 14 and he's 26 so it would be strange if we were like that wouldn't you think" Haku said noticing Naruto sigh in relief before letting a giant smile bloom on his face.

Haku looked at the blond haired boy and chuckled. She could tell that he was attracted to her, and she actually thought that he was kinda cute, however, she couldn't afford to let her personal feelings get in the way of Zabuza's plans.

"Who is this person that you're so devoted too?" Sasuke asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to see if Haku would trust them with the information.

"It's not important. Anyway I should probably get going now, he's probably waiting for me to return" Haku said as she turned to walk away. She took a few steps before turning to address Naruto and Sasuke.

"You two will definitely become strong, very strong. I can feel it... I hope I can meet you again someday" Haku said smiling before turning around and walking away.

Naruto watched Haku walk away until she was out of sight then he turned to Sasuke who had a teasing smirk on his face.

"Hn. It seems like you have a crush on Haku huh" Sasuke said still smirking.

"Duh Bastard, she's the prettiest girl I've ever seen. She's even prettier than Sakura and Hinata! The next time I see her I'm going to tell her I like her. BELIEVE IT!" Naruto exclaimed immediately wiping the smirk off Sasuke's face.

"What did you just say loser?" Sasuke asked, his voice lowering dangerously.

Naruto heard the playfulness fade out of Sasuke's voice, but he was too smitten to pay it any mind.

"I said that she's prettier than Sakura and Hinata" Naruto repeated, Sasuke grabbed a hold of his collar instantly after the words left his mouth. Naruto gulped as he stared at Sasuke's glowing red eyes. He didn't know what he did to anger Sasuke, but he was currently in no position to defend himself.

"Let me make one thing clear to you Naruto. No one is prettier than Hinata. I don't care about what your personal opinion is about Haku, but don't you ever let me hear you saying that her or anyone else is prettier than Hinata" Sasuke said before throwing his best friend to the ground roughly.

Naruto looked up at his best friend with a mixture of fear and confusion, but he soon had a look of realization before laughing.

"You're soo whipped bastard hahahaha" Naruto said rolling on the ground. Sasuke just scoffed and looked away.

"Whatever loser, lets head back. I don't feel like training with you anymore" Sasuke said walking away without waiting for a response.

Naruto, who was still laughing, simply stood up and followed his best friend to Tazuna's home.

XxXxXx

A few days later Team 7 walked with Tazuna to the bridge. The bridge was scheduled to be completed that day and Tazuna couldn't have been happier, but when they arrived he saw that all of his employees had been rendered unconscious.

"What! Who could have done this?" Tazuna said tremebling, but he was soon answered by a thick fog that covered the area.

"It's Zabuza. Guys guard Tazuna" Kakashi said as he lifted his forehead protector revealing his Sharingan.

As soon as Kakashi's Sharingan activated, 5 Zabuza water clones surrounded Team 7 and Tazuna.

"We meet again Kakashi. This time will be different, these brats won't be able to help you" The Zabuza clones said in unison.

Kakashi just laughed to himself as he turned to Sasuke.

"Go ahead and take them out Sasuke" Kakashi said cheerfully. Sasuke smirked and in the blink of an eye the 5 Zabuza water clones were defeated.

The real Zabuza, who appeared in the fog with the masked ninja that saved him, was mildly impressed, but he wasn't worried in the slightest. Turning to his masked comrade he spoke.

"Seems like you have a rival Haku."

Naruto's eyes widened when he heard the masked ninja's name.

"So it seems" The same angelic voice from a few days ago spoke.

Naruto was shocked. The girl that seemed so nice and pure was teaming with the Demon of the Hidden Mist. Naruto couldn't stop the burst of emotion that escaped his mouth.

"Why are you working with someone like him Haku? He kills mercilessly... that's not the type of person you are" Naruto said with his voice full of emotion. Haku simply sighed and removed her mask revealing her beautiful face.

"That may be true, but I live to follow Master Zabuza's will. As I have told you before, I will do anything for him whether I want to or not" Haku said.

"Enough talk Haku take care of the two boys. I'll handle Kakashi" Zabuza commanded as he charged towards Kakashi. Naruto moved to intercept, but he was kicked aside by Haku.

She tried to follow up her attack by throwing 2 senbon at Naruto's neck. Naruto looked up in fear for a moment, but the senbon were caught by Sasuke who appeared in front of Naruto suddenly.

Haku was mildly surprised by Sasuke's speed, but she didn't stop her attack. She didn't like having to use this jutsu, but it was the quickest way to kill them. She didn't want to prolong their suffering.

" **DEMONIC MIRRORING ICE CYRSTALS"** Haku said as a dome of Ice surrounded Sasuke and Naruto trapping them.

Sasuke stood up and activated his Sharingan. Naruto stood up as well and had a sorrowful look on his face.

"Haku please stop this. I don't want to hurt you" Naruto pleaded with her as her form appeared in one of the ice mirrors.

"I don't want to hurt you either Naruto, but I have my orders. I'll try to make this as quick and as painless as possible" Haku said as she prepared it throw senbon at the two boys.

Naruto simply frowned and formed the hand signs for his signature jutsu.

" **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU"** Naruto shouted as 200 Naruto clones appeared out of the smoke and attacked aiming to break the mirrors. They were all bombarded by seemingly endless needles. Sasuke watched Haku's movements with his Sharingan. Her speed was impressive, but to him it seemed like she was moving in slow motion. He studied her for minutes waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

His eyes widened as he saw a perfect moment. Haku was in the air poised to strike the final shadow clone. Sasuke smirked as he took a deep breath.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Sasuke fired the fireball that destroyed the final Naruto clone and crashed into Haku.

She managed to block the attack successfully, but the force of the attack sent her flying back crashing through her Ice Mirrors and dispelling the jutsu.

Haku stood up with a few burn marks on her skin. Naruto couldn't help but still find beauty in Haku's injured form, but he tried to keep his mind clear in case she attacked them again.

"Haku please stop this. If we don't stop soon then one of us could end up dying and I don't want that"" Naruto said trying to convince Haku. She looked at him with sad eyes, but she didn't say a word. She took out more senbon in preparation for a attack.

Sasuke admired Haku's tenacity, but he knew that she would never be able to beat him at his current level. He could also see the pain on Naruto's face as he continued to try to talk her out of fighting against them. Sasuke decided then and there that he would do everything in his power to make sure Haku survives this time around; only for Naruto.

"Haku, we all know that you don't want to do this. Think about it, we don't need to fight anymore" Sasuke said joining with Naruto to try to convince her of stopping.

Haku looked at both Naruto and Sasuke with pain in her eyes. They could tell that she didn't want to fight them anymore and she was visibly conflicted on what to do. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but she was cut off by Kakashi's shout.

" **CHIDORI."**

All 3 turned to see Zabuza pinned down by Kakashi's dog summons unable to move as Kakashi ran towards him with a strong deadly lightning chakra in his hands. Haku's body moved before Naruto could stop her. He blinked and saw Haku standing in front of Zabuza with her arms spread to shield him from the attack. He saw that Kakashi wasn't stopping.

"NO HAKU!" Naruto screamed as he tried to run towards Kakashi to stop him, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. He saw Haku look at him and give him a quick smile before closing her eyes accepting her fate.

Then blood flew into the air.

XxXxXx

Haku was confused. She had thought that the lighting blade would've pierced through her chest by now, but she could tell that she hadn't been touched. She opened her eyes to see Sasuke standing in front of her and Zabuza with Kakashi's hand through his shoulder.

Sasuke grimaced as he could feel his flesh burning as he held off Kakashi's Chidori. Upon noticing that he had pierced Sasuke, Kakashi's eyes widened as he jerked his hand out of Sasuke's body making the Uchiha fall back towards the ground.

He then proceeded to press his hands on Sasuke's wound in order to stop the blood. As soon as Kakashi managed to stop the blood gushing from Sasuke's wound he spoke.

"Sasuke why would you do that? They were enemy shinobi, why did you sacrifice your body to protect them?" Kakashi asked as he looked at Sasuke's downed form.

Sasuke coughed a little in an effort to hold off the pain. Sasuke may have had a hole in his shoulder, but he knew he would live. He'd been through much worse after all, then he remembered something important. That was the shoulder that Shino's guard bug was on.

' _ **Damn. Shino's gonna tell Hinata that something happened. Now she's going to be freaking out until I get back. Hopefully I at least make it back by our 1 month'**_ Sasuke thought as he laid on the ground.

"Because the true power of a shinobi comes when they have someone to protect" Sasuke said repeating the words that Haku had told he and Naruto earlier. Haku looked at Sasuke with tears in her eyes threatening to fall as Sasuke just gave he her a bloodied smirk.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with tears flowing down her face, but she couldn't move to help him. Not with the threat of Zabuza still around.

Naruto also had tears in his eyes as he looked at his best friend's body lay on the bridge. He wasn't fast enough, but Sasuke was. Sasuke had gotten hurt because he wasn't fast enough. Naruto had never felt so powerless in his life

"He'll be okay guys. He won't die, lets just finish this mission so that he can get him patched up immediately" Kakashi said turning back to Zabuza.

Once Zabuza got over his shock he began to laugh.

"Nice Kakashi, you've instilled in these kids what I have I instilled in Haku. They are nothing, but tools to be used by you whenever you need him. His life is insignificant, I'll be sure to finish him off when I'm done with you" Zabuza said while advancing towards Kakashi.

Sakura, Kakashi and Haku all looked at the man in horror, but before they could say anything Naruto spoke.

"How dare you" Naruto said with a voice so sinister that it made Zabuza stop in his tracks. He turned to look at the boy and froze when saw the sharp red eyes of Naruto.

Kakashi saw it too and instantly paled.

' _ **Oh no the Kyuubi. This is not the time nor the place for Naruto to lose control'**_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Naruto didn't seem to notice that his eyes became sharp or that a powerful red chakra swirled around him. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at Zabuza.

"How could you say something like that when the only reason why you're alive right now is because Haku cares for you enough to sacrifice her life for yours. Don't you realize that she looks up to you? And you said that she's only a tool to be used by you. You can't really believe that" Naruto said.

"Shut up.."

"No you shut up! Sasuke's hurt because he cares enough about me to protect someone that I care about. Sasuke saw that I wasn't going to make it in time to save Haku, so he did it himself and ended up with a hole in his shoulder" Naruto said cutting of Zabuza.

"He's hurt because he's weak" Zabuza said trying to cut off Naruto's speech.

"No he's hurt because he's strong unlike you. If you would've taken Kakashi-sensei's Chidori then you'd be dead right now. True strength doesn't come from using people or what you do on your own. True strength comes from having someone to protect" Naruto said.

Kakashi, Sakura and Haku smiled at Naruto's words and Zabuza froze thinking back to when he first met Haku. He began going through his memories of his adventures with Haku over the years and how much stronger he's gotten after saving Haku. He began to realize that Naruto was right as he looked at the Blonde.

"You talk to much kid" Zabuza said.

"What? Do you still not understand I..." Naruto stopped talking when Haku grabbed his shoulder. He looked at her in confusion, but she was looking at Zabuza.

The man had tears in his eyes, as he walked towards Haku to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"You give me strength" Zabuza said simply as Haku's eyes widened as she began to tear up against her will. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto all smiled at them, even Sasuke managed another smirk even though it pained him to do it.

The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Gato and a few hundred hired thugs.

"You shinobi make me sick. Can't even take down a bridge builder. I'll do it myself and I'll take down all of you as well. Then they'll be no one to stop me" Gato said with a sinister smirk on his face.

Kakashi and Zabuza looked at each other and smirked.

"Truce" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah. Truce" Zabuza agreed.

"Okay Naruto lets even the playing field" Kakashi said.

Naruto didn't need to be told twice as he made 300 clones of himself. Zabuza and Kakashi both contributed 50 clones each, while Sakura and Haku both readied themselves.

"Go get them boys" Gato ordered as the hundreds of goons charged at the shinobi.

XxXxXx

It was a very one sided battle that ended in Gato's capture. Afterwards they all returned to Tazuna's home in order to get Sasuke patched up. Inari apologized to everyone for his rude behavior and Naruto instilled an heroic sense in him. The bridge was completed 2 days after the defeat of Gato. Everyone were considered heroes of the village including Zabuza and Haku. Tazuna named the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge' much to the annoyance of Sasuke.

It was time for everyone to leave and they were all eager to get back home, especially Sasuke. He only had 5 more days until his anniversary and he didn't want to miss it.

"It was a pleasure meeting you and your team Kakashi. They will grow up to be splendid shinobi. Hopefully we'll cross paths again someday" Zabuza said as he and Haku stood in front of Team 7.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? You're coming back to Konoha with us" Kakashi said shocking Zabuza and Haku.

"What? How? I'm a rouge ninja... Would we really be accepted in your village?" Zabuza asked.

"Of course! The Hokage might have Ibiki interrogate you to see if you're really on our side, but if you're willing to come then we'll be more than happy to take you. Besides Naruto's been begging me to let you and Haku come. Especially Haku" Kakashi replied causing Zabuza and Haku to look at Naruto.

Naruto blushed at being exposed by his Sensei, but smiled at them nonetheless. The smile was returned by Haku as the two shared eye contact. The moment was broken up by a very impatient Sasuke.

"I don't care whether or not you come with us, but I need to get back. If you're coming than come on I'm leaving now" Sasuke ordered walking away from the others. No none argued as they all walked after the hurt Uchiha.

XxXxXx

5 days later Team 7 made it back to Konoha with Zabuza and Haku. The team 8 Genin and Neji were waiting for them at the gates. Hinata run up to hug Sasuke.

"Shino told me his guard bug was destroyed, and I was so worried. What happened to your shoulder" Hinata said burying her face in Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke just laughed and pulled away before grabbing her hand and leading her towards the village.

"We'll talk about that later, but for now we have an anniversary to celebrate" Sasuke said walking away with a blushing Hinata.

Everyone just rolled their eyes at the couple. Neji walked up to Sakura and asked her questions about her mission. Sakura just blushed at the attention and answered all his questions.

When Neji was satisfied he placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and led her towards the village claiming that she needed food. No one questioned why both of their faces were a bright pink when they were walking away. Shino had already disappeared, but Kiba was staring at Haku.

"Woah who is this beauty" Kiba said nearly howling. Naruto was not having it.

"Back off Dog breath. She just got to the village, don't scare her off" Naruto said getting in Kiba's face.

Haku just chuckled and walked over the boys. She grabbed Naruto's hand and led him into the village leaving behind a whimpering Kiba.

Kakashi and Zabuza just watched the scene play out in front of them before looking at each other. They shook their head murmuring something about puppy love as they walked into the village ignoring Kiba.

 **TBC**

 **This is the longest Chapter I've ever written. I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I just wanted to finish the 'Land Of Waves' arc in one chapter. Now let me clear some things up**

 **I know that Haku is officially a boy in canon, but you can't tell me that you didn't think he was a girl at first. I made him a girl in this story so that I can give Naruto a unique pairing besides lets be honest, Naruto was crushing on Haku until he said he was a boy XD**

 **2\. If you're a guest Reviewer and you have a question can you please give me a name so that I can address you when I do Review answers? I don't want you guys to think I'm ignoring your questions, but I can't answer if I don't have a name**

 **Httpsanime- thank you for reading and reviewing! Naruto did have a tiny crush on Sakura, but after this chapter I hope I made it obvious that he liked someone else**

 **Kiss2lips- thank you. I don't understand all the Sakura hate, but I like her character. She will never get bashed in this fic**

 **Crimson11116- Eventually**

 **Splaaash-attack- thank you**

 **JustQuokka- THANK YOU SO MUCH**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you. I'm glad that you like the Neji/Sakura pairing**

 **Please continue to read and review, and thank you for all of you guys' support! I really do appreciate it- Dishon 3**


	8. Hanare

**I have recently reached the 100 reviews, 100 favorites, and 100 followers landmark. Thank you to everyone that has read this fic and reviews. Also thank you to everyone who favorited and followed the fic too. I appreciate all of you! Now on with the Fic**

 **Chapter 8**

It's been a week since Team 7, Zabuza and Haku had returned from the Land of Waves mission.

Zabuza and Haku asked for citizenship in Kohona. The Hokage was skeptical but after Kakashi explained the details of the mission, and Naruto's Sexy Jutsu, they were granted citizenship after being interrogated by Ibiki and Inoichi.

Currently Team 7 were at the gates after finsihing another D-rank mission. Kakashi was watching his team interact with a smile on his face when he noticed several Anbu agents escorting a beautiful woman into the village.

He watched as she passed them. He could've sworn that she was looking at him the whole time she was walking, but Kakashi couldn't figure out why. He wasn't the only one to notice the woman though.

"Who is that? She's beautiful" Sakura exclaimed clearly impressed by the woman's beauty.

"Sure she looks good, but I've seen better" Naruto said with a giant smile on his face. Sasuke just nodded and agreed with his best friend.

Sakura and Kakashi both rolled their eyes at the two boys. Ever since they returned, Naruto has spent a lot of time with Haku. You couldn't talk to the blond haired boy for a full minute without him bringing up Haku. Sasuke and Hinata were well known around the village and while Sasuke didn't go out of his way to say it, he obviously views Hinata as the best the Hidden Leaf has to offer.

"Shut up! That's not the point Naruto besides you don't have to talk about Haku every minute" Sakura said.

"You're just jealous that Neji-baka isn't talking about you every minute" Naruto fired back teasingly causing Sakura to blush.

"Oh yeah well at least..." Kakashi stopped listening to his students bickering and looked back towards the direction that the woman had walked in.

Sasuke looked at his sensei stare after the woman. He could vaguely remember this moment in his old life. The woman's name was Hanare and was supposedly a spy for the lock village. She was only in the village for a week last time, but during that week she and Kakashi had been nearly inseparable. He remembered the time he and the rest of team 7 got caught spying because of Naruto's idiocy.

He also remembered that Kakashi was gloomier than usual for the week following her disappearance. Then he acted like it never happened and told them about the Chunin Exams.

"Kakashi you're looking in that direction rather intensely. You longing for something?" Sasuke asked with his trademark smirk. Sakura and Naruto stopped bickering and tuned in to the conversation. This could be the perfect opportunity to tease their sensei. Kakashi, however, was having none of it.

"Sasuke, I have something that I want to discuss with you in private. The rest of you are dismissed" Kakashi said as he began to walk away.

Sakura and Naruto both gave Sasuke knowing looks. Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders already knowing what his teammates were thinking.

"I'll tell guys of course, depending on what it is anyway" Sasuke said following Kakashi leaving behind a slightly upset Naruto and Sakura.

XxXxXx

Kakashi had taken Sasuke to the training grounds. He was conflicted about the woman, but he wasn't about to let the two immature members of his team know that. He'd never hear the end of their teasing.

"You're kind of right. That woman has such a familiar vibe. Kind of like I've met her before, but I can't remember where or when" Kakashi confessed.

He wasn't sure why he was talking to a 13 year old about this, but Sasuke was smart. He doubted whatever he had to say would be any worse than what Gai, Zabuza or Asuma would have to say.

"Well go talk to her. Stop acting like a nervous Genin" Sasuke said bluntly. Kakashi wasn't surprised in the slightest by the boy's words. Sasuke has always been straight to the point.

"Yeah sure I'll get right on that. Anyway that's not the only reason I brought you out here. I'm going to show you something. Activate your Sharingan" Kakashi said while starting to perform hand signs.

Sasuke recognized the jutsu and instantly activated his Sharingan in order to 'copy' it. Although he already knew how to do the jutsu well, it was his favorite after all.

When Kakashi finished his hand signs the Chidori was chirping loudly in the middle of the area. Sasuke smirked at the jutsu.

"As you know this is the Chidori. Its an A rank Jutsu that holds a lot of destructive capabilities if you use it the right way. I'd like to teach it to you if you'd want to learn" Kakashi offered. Sasuke nodded and began to do the handsigns, Kakashi looked on approvingly.

"That's the right signs, but don't be upset if you can't get it the first time" Kakashi said closing his eyes. Then they widened when he heard the familiar chirping sound of his signature technique.

Sasuke had a smirk on his face with a Chidori that rivaled Kakashi's in vibrancy. Sasuke's also seemed to have a sharper edge and he was holding it like he was an expert with the Jutsu.

"How did you do that so easily" Kakashi asked with his eyes still widened. He lifted his headband up to look at Sasuke's Chidori with his Sharingan. He was surprised to see that Sasuke's Chidori wasn't much weaker than his was.

"I saw you try to use the technique on Zabuza on the bridge, so I studied it there too, but I couldn't quite do it until I saw you do it up close" Sasuke lied smoothly.

Kakashi accepted Sasuke's explanation with a nod. He shook his head to dispel the disbelief. People called him a genius when he was growing up, but he had to admit that his genius was nothing compared Sasuke's at his age. Even Itachi had shown more potential than he did. As far as he knew, Kakashi had the least potential of anyone who had a Sharingan.

"That's very impressive Sasuke. If you keep improving at this rate, then you'll catch to Itachi in no time" Kakashi said trying to be supportive. He saw Sasuke visibly flinch and take the chakra out of his hand draining the Chidori.

"Thanks... Kakashi?" Sasuke started hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Kakashi asked noticing the shift in the mood of the teenager.

"If I were to try to get revenge on those who are responsible for the slaughter of my clan would you try to stop me?" Sasuke asked in a tone that could be interpreted as 'Nervousness', Sasuke would never admit to that though.

"Of course not. I am your sensei and comrade, but I'm also your friend. If you ask for help then I'd do everything in my power to help you" Kakashi said with no hesitation. Sasuke was still skeptical.

"Would you still help me even if it meant breaking the rules?" Sasuke asked.

That question had Kakashi thinking for a moment. He was a loyal Konoha shinobi. He would defend this village with his last breath and would never betray his home. He would, however, break a few rules, especially for someone he cared about. Kakashi gave Sasuke a genuine smile although he couldn't see it.

"Remember the first thing I taught you Sasuke? Those who disobey the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse scum" Kakashi said with unwavering conviction.

Hearing this, Sasuke gave his Sensei a grateful look and a genuine smile shocking Kakashi for a moment. Kakashi didn't want to interrupt the bonding moment, but he had to know what he was planning to do.

"So what do you plan on doing that requires you to break the rules? Are you going to leave the village so that you can go kill Itachi?" Kakashi asked.

"Thats just it Kakashi. Itachi is.." Sasuke started but he quickly stopped talking when a presence was felt.

Sasuke and Kakashi's head both turned to the Anbu who had just arrived.

"Inoichi has summoned you to the interrogation unit. He said its urgent" The Anbu said looking a Sasuke through his mask. He was surprised the boy could sense his presence, even with his Sharingan active.

"Thank you I'll report immediately" Kakashi said. The Anbu nodded an teleported away in a swirl of leaves.

Kakashi and Sasuke looked at each for a few moments.

"We'll finish this discussion later" Kakashi said and left heading towards the Hokage Tower. Sasuke nodded knowing that if this was anything like last time he had at least a week to come up with a way to tell Kakashi the truth.

XxXxXx

Kakashi arrived in the Interrogation room of the Hokage Tower, he was instantly met by Inoichi.

"Kakashi, the woman that we have captured has no memories of her past except for a vivid memory of you carrying her on your back talking about clouds. We need you to spend time with her and assess her with your Sharingan" Inoichi said.

Kakashi instantly knew why he had felt like the woman had been familiar. He did vaguely recall doing something like that when he was younger.

"Okay I'll do what I can" Kakashi said nonchalantly.

Inoichi nodded and called for Hanare to be brought into the room. She was showered and had a new pair of clothes and she looked stunning. Kakashi felt his face grow hot. When Hanare saw Kakashi, her expression brightened immediately.

Everyone in the room noticed this, including Kakashi. He discreetly pulled his mask up a little higher to hide the pink tint on his cheeks.

"We'll leave her in your care Kakashi. Show her around the leaf or something" Inoichi said before he left the room.

Kakashi looked at Hanare, who looked back at him and smiled.

"Ready to go?" Kakashi asked lamely rubbing his hand behind his head. Hanare simply smiled and responded.

"Lead the way" as the two left the Hokage Tower side by side.

XxXxXx

Kakashi and Hanare had barely left the Hokage Tower when Kakashi was approached by the duo of Gai and Zabuza.

The two had formed a weird sort of friendship over the week that Zabuza had been in the village. They were often seen at the bar together, and even though Gai was known for being an horrible drunk Zabuza didn't seem to mind much. He was annoyed by his constant talking about youth, but they still bonded.

"Hello Kakashi, its great to see you on this youthful day" Gai said with a bright smile on his face. Both Zabuza and Kakashi rolled their eyes at Gai.

"We were just about to head over the diner and saw you. You wanna join us?" Zabuza asked casually.

"Sorry guys, not today I'm actually going to spend my day with Hanare here" Kakashi said gesturing towards the woman at his right. Gai's eyes widened and Zabuza smirked.

Kakashi saw the reactions of his friends and instantly knew what was about to happen, but he was too late to stop it.

"LOVE REALLY SHOWS THE YOUTH IN PEOPLE" Gai yelled causing both Hanare and Kakashi's faces to burn red.

"Gai calm down" Kakashi started to say, but he was interrupted by Zabuza.

"Let him have his fun Kakashi, besides that blush on your face isn't really denying any attraction towards the woman" Zabuza said laughing.

Hearing this Hanare turned an even darker shade of red and began to smile.

"Umm Kakashi do you mind if we go. I would like to see more of the village" Hanare asked. Kakashi jumped on the opportunity to escape.

"Well you heard her guys, we have places to go, things to see. I'll talk to you guys later" Kakashi said taking Hanare's arm and rushing away from his comrades.

"Wait I wasn't done expressing my happiness with this development" Gai said getting ready to pursue the fleeting couple when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Let them go Gai. Kakashi's been embarrassed enough, besides I'm hungry" Zabuza said.

Gai thought for a moment and nodded. He could find them later, but for now he had to eat, youth couldn't be spread on an empty stomach.

XxXxXx

Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Neji, Sakura and Haku were all in the market hanging out as usual. They seemed to be inseparable since Team 7's return from the Land of Waves.

Currently Naruto was engaged in a one sided argument with Neji and Sasuke. It was one sided because both Neji and Sasuke simply ignored the blond as he ranted on and on about how Ichiraku's would be the ideal place for them to eat at. Sakura was giving Naruto an annoyed look while Hinata and Haku were smiling at the Blonde teenager's rant.

"And furthermore, Ramen has great nutritional value. If we want to be strong shinobi then we'll need our daily intake" Naruto continued when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

"Guys we gotta hide" Naruto said suddenly making everyone give him a confused look.

"Oh really? Tell me why we need to hide Idiot" Neji asked crossing his arms stubbornly. Naruto didn't answer he just grabbed Neji and Sasuke's shirt and pulled them behind a couple boxes with him. The girls sighed and walked behind the boxes too wondering what Naruto was getting at.

"Naruto what's going on" Sakura demands.

"Shh look" Naruto said pointing at something behind the box.

Everyone looked to see Kakashi and Hanare walking side by side throughout the market place. Naruto had a devious grin on his face, Sakura was smiling widely, and Sasuke gave a small smirk.

"Is Kakashi-sensei on a date?" Hinata asked not taking her eyes off the two adults.

"That's what it seems to be. He better hope that Master Zabuza doesn't see them. He'll never allow Kakashi to live it down" Haku said giggling.

"Yeah well that's all fine, but Naruto explain to me why we had to hide to see that" Neji said grumpily.

Naruto gave Neji a look that clearly said 'Are you an idiot?' Then turned his head back towards his sensei and Hanare. Neji balled his fist and was about to approach the blond when Sakura grabbed his fist and opened his hand.

"He wants to spy on Kakashi-sensei's date with the woman" Sakura said. Neji gave a look of realization and scoffed thinking this was a waste of time. He turned to Sasuke.

"Uchiha are you going to go along with this?" Neji asked.

Sasuke thought for a second trying to decide if he wanted to do it and risk getting caught. He came up with an idea and then nodded.

"Yes I am, but it'll be better if we split into groups. I'm taking Hinata" Sasuke said taking Hinata's arm and disappearing. Naruto seemed to catch on quickly to his best friends idea.

"I'm taking Haku" He said as he held out his hand for Haku. She took it and he pulled her away, dragging her towards another hiding spot.

Neji shook his head at the antics of his two closest friends. Then he noticed Sakura was looking at him expectantly. He sighed and nodded causing Sakura to smile at him and hold her hand out.

"Fine. Let's go" Neji said grabbing Sakura's hand and activating his Byakugan in order to find Kakashi.

"Wait lets go to the flower shop first" Sakura said.

' _ **What have I gotten myself into too?"**_ Neji asked himself as Sakura led him to the flower shop.

XxXxXx

Kakashi was completely unaware that he was being followed and watched by the Six Genin. He was showing Hanare the different entertainment options that the leaf had to offer. Hanare had been smiling throughout the whole tour. She rarely said anything, but Kakashi could tell that she was enjoying herself.

"So how do you like the leaf village so far Hanare?" Kakashi asked trying to strike up a conversation.

"This is a great place. I feel more at home here than I have anywhere else in my life" Hanare answered honestly looking right in Kakashi's one visible eye.

Kakashi slightly blushed at the look Hanare was giving him, but his masked covered it up so she didn't notice it.

"Yeah well Konoha is definitely the most hospitable out of the 5 great nations. It's great place for someone to start over if they want a new life" Kakashi said. Hanare gave him a look of surprise after he said that.

"Really? Konoha will accept someone with sins in their past to take residence here?" Hanare asked trying to keep the hope out her eyes. Kakashi noticed it anyway and answered.

"Of course, remember Zabuza?" Kakashi asked. Hanare thought back to the man who had bandages covering his mouth nodded.

"Well he is known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He has slaughtered countless people and even tried to kill me and my team at one point, but he's been accepted as a Jonin of the leaf. Of course he was interrogated and he has to be watched by either me, or Gai, but he is a member of this village with full privileges and rights" Kakashi said.

Hanare had an unreadable expression on her face for a moment as she thought about what Kakashi had said. It all sounded to good to be true, but she wanted to hope. She just smiled and nodded at Kakashi as the two continued walking in an comfortable silence.

Kakashi led them to a building where they could watch the clouds together.

"That cloud looks just like Naruto, and that cloud is... Sasuke?" Kakashi said mulling over the resemblance that the clouds held to his two male students.

XxXxXx

Naruto froze when he heard his sensei mention his name.

"Do you think he knows we're up here?" Naruto whispered to Haku.

The two were sitting up in the tree on the branch that was right above Kakashi and Hanare.

"It's possible, but if he did I'm sure that he would've said something by now. Now quiet before he hears us" Haku said whispering back.

Naruto nodded and decided to learn forward on the branch trying to hear the conversation better. The branch began to creak, but Naruto didn't notice. Haku did and moved to another branch. She tried to grab Naruto but it was too late as the branch snapped and Naruto fell right into his Sensei knocking both Kakashi and Hanare down.

XxXxXx

Kakashi didn't know what was going on.

One second he was looking at the clouds and the next he was on top of Hanare with his lips connected to hers.

Kakashi's headband was knocked off so his Sharingan was on full display as he and Hanare locked eyes while they continued kissing. Kakashi was surprised when he saw that her pupils were moving.

Then they broke apart both sporting identical blushes on their faces. Kakashi turned to see the flustered Naruto still on the ground. He rolled his eyes as he knew the boy wasn't alone in spying on him.

"Alright the jig is up, everyone come out" Kakashi said.

Haku jumped down from the tree that Naruto just fell out of. Neji and Sakura came out from behind a nearby bush. Sasuke dispelled a Genjutsu as he and Hinata appeared next to the tree Naruto and Haku were hiding in.

"Any reason why you six were spying on us?" Kakashi asked. Naruto looked around nervously before spotting the flowers in Sakura's hands. He quickly takes them and places them in front of Kakashi.

"We just wanted to congratulate you on your relationship" Naruto said smiling brightly handing the flowers to Hanare.

Kakashi had a shocked look on his face as he looked around at the faces of the other teenagers.

Sakura, Haku, and Hinata all had bright smiles on their faces that rivaled Naruto's own. Neji had a closed mouth smile that looked sincere, and Sasuke was giving them a smirk, but he could see the warmness in his onyx eyes.

Hanare took the flowers and looked at the teenagers for a second in shock before she blushed and smiled brightly back at them.

"Thank you so much" Hanare said to the teens who all seemed satisfied with themselves. Kakashi sighed at Hanare's words and shook his head.

"Yeah guys thanks now can you stop spying on us now?" Kakashi asked.

"Why Kaka-sensei? Are we interrupting your date with your new girlfriend" Naruto said teasing making the masked nin twitch.

"I'm showing her around the village Naruto. How about you worry about Haku and stop worrying about me and Hanare" Kakashi fired back playfully causing both Haku and Naruto to blush.

"He does have a point loser. It was YOUR idea to spy on them, now if everyone's done wasting time we can head to the Uchiha District and leave Kakashi alone with his girlfriend" Sasuke said sending jabs at both Naruto and Kakashi simultaneously.

"Well said Uchiha. Now lets get going" Neji said grabbing Sakura's hand and walking away. Sasuke and Hinata soon followed accompanied by Haku and a pouting Naruto.

When Kakashi was sure that his team and their friends were gone he turned to Hanare with a sheepish look.

"Sorry about uh kissing you accidentally, and sorry about the kids. They mean well, but they aren't the smartest group of Genin" Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head. Hanare just gave him a smile.

"Its not a problem at all Kakashi. I'd actually like to do this again sometime" Hanare said shocking Kakashi. Being the pervert that he was, Kakashi couldn't stop himself from asking the question that came to his mind.

"Touring around the village or the kissing?" He asked casually. Although, he was battling another blush. Hanare had a bright smile on her face as she turned around and started to walk towards something that caught her attention, but Kakashi heard her say something before she started walking.

"Both."

Kakashi couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he ran to catch up to her.

XxXxXx

Over the next week Kakashi and Hanare spent a lot of time together, and the two were often seen walking around together. She also spent a fair amount of time bounding with Team 7, Hinata, Neji, and Haku, and she's also forged a friendship with Kurenai and Anko.

Hanare was starting to feel like she belonged in the Hidden Leaf, and she loved it there. She made the decision to erase all the information that she'd stolen and try to lead a new life in Konoha.

As soon as she deleted the information the Lock Village demanded Konoha to give her back. They had a Konoha shinobi as a bargaining chip, and although Kakashi disagreed with giving her back, he was overruled and they were sent to meet the Lock Village representative.

When they got there all hell broke loose. The bridge exploded and Hanare ran away with Kakashi in hot pursuit, leaving Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura to face the Lock Village representative.

"You've already lost! The Lock Village has won and all your secrets are ours! Hahahaha.." He was cut off after Sakura punched him in the jaw and knocked him out cold.

"He was so annoying" Sakura said as Naruto sweat dropped and Sasuke smirked.

"Whatever lets go find Kakashi and Hanare" Sasuke said.

" _ **Maybe if we arrive earlier, she won't jump off the cliff this time and Kakashi could have a girlfriend to keep him away from teasing Hinata and I"**_ Sasuke thought as he sped towards Kakashi's chakra.

XxXxXx

Kakashi and Hanare were face to face on a cliff. Neither spoke for a moment, then Hanare broke the silence.

"When did you figure it out?" Hanare asked Kakashi.

"It was during our first kiss. My Sharingan noticed that you were casting a jutsu with your eye. I realized that you were using that eye to view the inside of people's minds. Quite the useful Jutsu for spies" Kakashi said offhandedly causing Hanare to smile.

"It will be an honor to die by your hand Kakashi. Thank you for this past week, I've never felt so at home in my life. When your team gave our relationship their blessing I truly felt happiness for the first time in my life. I can die happy" Hanare said.

" _ **But I don't ever want to hurt you"**_ Kakashi thought internally but what he actually said was "I'd never kill a shinobi that has lost their honor. Just leave" Kakashi said but Hanare could see the pain in his visible eye. She smiled sadly and turned around, but before she could leave a voice stopped her.

"Kakashi stop being stupid."

Both adults turned in shock to see Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke standing there with the Lock Village Official tied up and unconscious, but they were both even more surprised at the words Sasuke spoke next.

"You don't want Hanare to leave and she doesn't want to leave you neither. Stop acting like an idiot and ask her to stay. We all know that the Hokage will pardon her crimes and she can live a normal life in Konoha. Stop trying to act like some duty bound ninja and follow your emotions" Sasuke said in his usual monotone. Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement.

Kakashi looked at his team in shock, especially Sasuke. He rarely showed emotion around anyone except Hinata, but he was telling him to follow his emotions.

"Guys you don't understand" Kakashi started but he was instantly cut off by Sasuke's Sharingan activating.

"Don't try to baby us like we aren't shinobi too, we understand that tough decisions must be made and that sometimes it's unavoidable, but this is avoidable. You can be happy, but you're just going to give it up over some misjudged sense of duty. I will not have you sacrifice you're own happiness and I will trap you in a Genjutsu if I have too. Naruto get ready to grab him" Sasuke said threateningly. Naruto nodded and 40 clones appeared behind him.

Kakashi sweat dropped at his students threat. He wasn't sure if Sasuke could actually deliver on his threat, but he didn't want to find out, besides he was right in a way. He definitely didn't want Hanare to leave. Kakashi sighed before looking towards Hanare with a smile starting to show through the mask.

"Well Sasuke is right. I don't want you leave... in fact I'd prefer if you'd stay by me at all times..." Kakashi started before Naruto interrupted.

"Smooth Kaka-sensei" Naruto cheered before Sakura punched him silencing the blonde and causing his clones to disperse.

"...Anyway, what do you say? Wanna go home?" Kakashi asked.

Hanare looked at him with unshed tears and a bright smile. She ran up to Kakashi and hugged him answering his question. Kakashi smiled and hugged her back tightly. Soon Naruto and Sakura joined the hug.

Kakashi looked to see Sasuke smirking as he deactivated his Sharingan. Kakashi motioned for Sasuke to join the hug, but Sasuke declined. Knowing that the Uchiha was going to be stubborn, Kakashi grabbed him and held tight so that he couldn't escape.

Team 7 and Hanare continued to hug for a few moments, before they broke apart and began their trip back to Konoha.

" _ **I'm glad that Kakashi finally has someone to spend his time with so that he won't bother Hinata and I anymore, but if he grabs me like that again I'll kill him"**_ Sasuke thought as he walked back to the leaf with a smile on his face, satisfied that he could save his sensei's love life.

 **TBC**

 **DarkCherry (Guest)- I'm glad that you liked the change. Zabuza and Haku are some of my favorite characters so I had to keep them alive, and yeah Sasuke wasn't having it lol**

 **Lusalec- Thank You :)**

 **Lucie4512- Thank you, and yeah I can see how it would feel that way when the entire Land Of Waves arc was in one chapter**

 **Bernadette Dei- Thank you for the review. I'm glad that you like the fic and the pairing**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you I hoped the Naru/Haku pairing would go over well**

 **kiss2lips- Thank you**

 **Splaaash-attack- I'm glad that you liked the female Haku and yeah Sasuke thinks very highly of Hinata lol**

 **Thank you everyone. Please continue to Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	9. Chunin Exams Pt 1

**Chapter 9**

A few days after the situation with Hanare, Kakashi called a meeting with Team 7. As soon as Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke arrived they were addressed by their sensei.

"Hey guys, I've been watching your progress and I feel that you're ready to take the Chunin Exams" Kakashi said proudly.

He was expecting the loudest reaction from Naruto, but the blonde haired boy just looked confused.

"What are the Chunin Exams Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"The Chunin Exams is the test that Genin take in order to move up the ninja ranks and become Chunin. They are held twice a year and they are extremely dangerous, but I feel like you 3 can handle it" Kakashi said gauging the reactions of his students.

Naruto then got the excited expression that Kakashi was expecting, and Kakashi knew that he'd have no problems dealing with other Genin, with the exception of Neji and Sasuke, and maybe Hinata. Kakashi was sure that the son of his sensei will pass.

Sasuke had shown no emotion on his face, but Kakashi didn't expect him to show any. Kakashi had no doubts about Sasuke's abilities, so he figured that this exam will just be viewed as an annoyance to the young Uchiha.

Sakura looked less sure about herself, but he could see the resolve in her eyes. She didn't want to be the weak link in her team and she was going to try to prove that she could keep up.

"You don't have to decide now, there's still a week until the exams actually start so don't feel pressured. I hope to see you there" Kakashi said smiling before flickering off.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura just looked at each other. They knew that they all wanted to partake in the Chunin Exams.

"So we're doing it right?" Sakura asked even though she knew the answer.

"Believe It!" Naruto responded with a bright smile. Sasuke just smirked but Sakura knew that he wanted to do it too.

"Alright then its decided, lets go get some food or something" Sakura said. Naruto nodded and Sasuke just shook his head and flickered off much like Kakashi did.

"Bastard" Naruto said as he walked off with Sakura.

XxXxXx

Naruto and Sakura were walking towards Ichiraku's when they noticed that a boy wearing face paint that looked a little older than them was holding a kid by his collar. There was another teen, a girl, behind him holding a giant fan. Once they got closer Naruto noticed that the kid was Konohamaru.

Konohamaru was the grandson of the 3rd Hokage, and he was Naruto's unofficial pupil. When Konohamaru noticed Naruto he instantly called out for help.

"Boss help, this guy attacked me" Konohamaru pleaded. Naruto noticed the foreign insignia on the other boy's headband and frowned.

"You better let him down if you know what's good for you" Naruto said cracking his knuckles. The boy scoffed and looked towards Naruto.

"What are you going to do if I don't kid?" The boy asked with a smirk.

Before Naruto could reply, a small rock collided with the boys fist causing him to yelp in surprise and drop Konohamaru, who instantly ran behind Naruto and Sakura.

Everyone looked up into the nearby tree to see Sasuke casually throwing a rock up and down in the air basically telling everyone that he was the one who threw the first rock.

"When you bully people weaker than you it just makes you look stupid, but then again you already looked stupid enough with the face paint, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised" Sasuke said casually throwing the rock up and down causing the boy with paint on his face to fume in anger.

"Oh is that so?" The boy said pulling the wrapped up object that was on his back onto the ground shocking the girl next to him.

"Kankuro are you serious about using that out here?" the girl asked.

"I'm going to teach that punk a lesson Temari, Nobody insults me and gets away with it" Kankuro said with a smirk but it was instantly wiped away when someone else spoke.

"Kankuro enough, its embarrassing."

Everyone looked in surprise to see a red haired boy standing upside down on the same branch that Sasuke was on. Sasuke simply smirked at the appearance of Gaara.

Sasuke remembered how sadistic the boy was around this time, but he also remembered how he tried to reach out to him when he invaded the Five Kage Summit. After further reflection, Sasuke was grateful for the future Kazekage's attempt to help him out of the darkness, and he even remembered the tears that the other man had shed for him. Sasuke knew that if he wasn't so lost in the darkness, then he and Gaara could've possibly been friends. Maybe not as close as he and Naruto, but friends nonetheless.

"I was just defending myself because he attacked me" Kankuro stuttered trying to explain himself to his little brother.

"It doesn't matter what you were trying to do. I said stop, so stop before I kill you myself" Gaara said menacingly making the other boy freeze up and stop talking.

Gaara hopped down from the tree branch and began to walk away with his siblings following him. Sasuke hopped down after him.

"Wait what's your name?" Sasuke asked. The blond haired girl turned and blushed.

"Me?" She asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No the red haired one" Sasuke said. He already knew his name, but he wanted to ask anyway because he did in his past life.

"Gaara. I'm curious about you as well" Gaara said with almost a civil tone, but to Sasuke the bloodlust was evident.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke said smirking. Gaara smirked back evilly then off course Naruto spoke.

"Hey don't you want to know my name too?" Naruto asked smirking. Gaara looked at him with no emotion on his face before turning and walking away followed by his siblings.

Naruto looked dejected at being ignored before Sasuke walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry to much about that, after the Chunin Exams they'll all know your name Loser" Sasuke said with a smirk causing Naruto to smirk in return. Sakura looked at her teammates with pride in her eyes.

"Yeah boss. They'll all see!" Konohamaru said excitedly.

Sasuke shook his head at the boy that he forgot was there. Sasuke had a feeling that this time the Chunin Exams would be different.

XxXxXx

A few days later Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were walking to the door of the Chunin Exams. They got to the door that they were supposed to enter and stopped when they saw 2 Chunin in front of it beating up a kid in green spandex.

Sasuke remembered this very well so he didn't say anything, but Naruto couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Hey you bullies stop ganging up on him, you scared to take him one on one?" Naruto said boldly causing everyone to look at him.

"What was that brat? Do you think that you can back up your big talk?" One of the Chunin asked walking towards Naruto.

"It's you who'll have to back up their mouth" Naruto replied charging towards the Chunin.

They both took swings towards each other, but neither hit connected. Naruto blinked in surprise when the boy in the green spandex was there holding back his punch and the Chunin's kick at the same time with minimal effort.

"What? I thought that you was just getting beat up Bushy Brows" Naruto said giving the man an incredulous look.

"My name is not Bushy Brows, Its Rock Lee" Lee said looking at Naruto with annoyance before noticing Sakura. With a blush forming on his face he let go of Naruto and the Chunin and advanced towards the pink haired girl.

"You're Sakura right?" Lee asked nervously.

Sakura nodded looking at the boy warily.

"Please be my girlfriend! I promise that I'll protect you with my life" Lee said giving a bright smile and a thumbs up, but his face blanched as his teammate spoke.

"Lee you'll lose your life sooner than you think if you don't back away from Sakura right now" Neji said walking over to the group.

"Neji why do you say that? Could it be that you have feelings for Sakura as well?" Lee said sounding surprised.

Sasuke and Naruto both smirked at the look on Neji's face. It was clear to them that he was usually the cool one around his teammates, and it'll be embarrassing for him to admit it in public, but Sakura bailed him out.

Sakura walked up behind Neji and placed her hand in his making the long haired teen blush a fierce red.

"Sorry Lee, but I'm already spoken for" Sakura said smiling at Neji. Neji smiled back for a second but his face instantly returned to its natural stoic state.

"Oh... I see" Lee said dejectedly.

" _ **Damn you Neji, always one step ahead of me"**_ Lee thought to himself.

The girl on their team walked up and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Tenten. Neji already told me about you're relationship, but Lee didn't know because he's always training by himself" Tenten said shaking Sakura's hand.

"Whatever. Lets get going to the actual door now, this one is a Genjutsu anyway" Sasuke said as everyone noticed that they were on the wrong floor.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier Bastard?" Naruto said annoyed.

"I thought that you already knew, besides you seemed to be having fun on this floor" Sasuke said shrugging.

Neji and Sakura laughed at the look on Naruto's face after Sasuke said that.

Sakura let go of Neji's hand and kissed him on his cheek before beginning to walk away.

"Good luck Neji" Sakura said as she grabbed Sasuke and Naruto's wrists and pulled them towards the staircase.

"Good luck" Neji replied with a smirk that Tenten and Lee noticed.

Neji looked to see Tenten's smirking face and Lee's shining eyes.

"Lee, I know..." Neji was cut off by Lee's shout.

"Love makes you Youthful, If I can't have Sakura then I'm glad its you who claimed her heart" Lee said giving Neji a blinding smile and a thumbs up.

"Umm thanks Lee?" Neji replied awkwardly.

Tenten just shook her head and walked towards the actual door to the Chunin Exams with Neji and Lee in tow.

XxXxXx

Kakashi was by the door of the Chunin Exams and smiled when he saw his team walking towards him.

"I'm glad you all decided to take the Chunin Exams. I know you'll all do well and I can't begin to tell you guys how proud I am of you and your progress since coming out of the academy. Good luck" Kakashi said before teleporting away.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked at each with identical looks of excitement and opened the door to the room revealing dozens of Genin teams all assembled together.

They were instantly greeted by the rest of the rookies that were in their academy class.

"You guys are here too? Man this will be troublesome" Shikamaru said. The cloud lover wasn't keen on the prospect of going up against Sasuke.

"Man this is the first time we've all been together like this since graduation day, its nice to see you guys" Naruto said excitedly.

"It sure is, but don't think imma go easy on any of you just because we're friends. I'm in it to win it, even Hinata won't be able to save you Sasuke" Kiba said arrogantly giving a fanged grin at the boy who was next to his teammate. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Hinata you haven't managed to tame your dog yet?" Sasuke said teasingly causing the rookie nine to laugh with the exception of Kiba who scoffed and looked away.

"Sasuke-kun be nice. We're all excited about the upcoming exams and Kiba's really excited about testing his skills against yours. You were the prodigy of our class" Hinata said trying to defend her teammate.

"I've told Kiba that he should focus on surpassing Shikamaru or Me, before challenging you, but he just wouldn't listen" Shino said causing Sasuke to smirk in amusement and Kiba to growl at his teammate.

"Shino I swear that sometimes you're out to get me" Kiba muttered to himself.

"Just trying to keep you out of the fantasy world that you live in sometimes Kiba" Shino said casually.

Sasuke ignored Hinata's teammates and focused on her.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke asked wrapping an arm around Hinata.

"Yes, I'm just a little nervous. Kurenai-sensei said that its possible for Genin to lose their lives during these exams" Hinata said softly. Sasuke just tightened his hold around Hinata.

"Don't worry too much about that, I'm sure you'll do great Hinata... Besides I promise that I won't let anything happen to you" Sasuke said making Hinata smile.

"I know you won't Sasuke-kun, and I won't let anything happen to you either" Hinata said in Sasuke's embrace.

XxXxXx

Naruto smiled at his two friends but he noticed someone walking up towards them. It was a Silver haired man with glasses on, Naruto had never seen the man before, but he had the Konoha headband on, so Naruto figured he was an ally.

"Hello I'm Kabuto, you nine are first year Genin and you're causing a lot of attention towards yourselves" Kabuto said with a smile. The rookie nine looked around the room and noticed that every other Genin was looking towards them.

Ino and Sakura, who were bickering, both stopped and gave nervous looks.

Shikamaru yawned and ignored the looks.

Choji ate his chips at a slower pace displaying his nervousness.

Kiba smirked at everyone, loving the prospect of a challenge.

Shino simply stared at everyone like he wasn't bothered by their looks, but everyone noticed that there were insects lightly swarming around him.

Sasuke and Hinata looked completely unbothered by the looks. Sasuke because he genuinely was unbothered. He actually smirked at the others as if daring the other Genin to attack. Hinata wasn't worried because Sasuke, Naruto and her team were around her. She knew that she wouldn't have to fight alone if it came to it.

Naruto was trembling.

"Naruto it's okay" Sakura said trying to comfort her teammate. Hinata also looked at Naruto worriedly and looked up at Sasuke

"Should we go comfort Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked Sasuke, but was shocked to see Sasuke smirking at Naruto.

"Don't worry about the loser. Watch this" Sasuke said as if on cue Naruto stopped trembling and pointed at everyone

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to defeat all of you!" Naruto said confidently causing the room to all look at the blond haired boy in contempt. The rest of the rookie nine looked at Naruto with different thoughts running through their heads.

' _ **Naruto sure is confident. I wonder what kind of training he's done'**_ Shino thought.

' _ **Naruto's talking as if he wasn't last in our class. Psh I'll be the one who will defeat all of them'**_ Kiba thought arrogantly.

' _ **How Troublesome, I hope Naruto has acquired the strength to back up his mouth. He seems to have the rest of the Genin now targeting him... well better him than me'**_ Shikamaru thought.

' _ **This chip is delicious... oh and Naruto is crazy'**_ Choji thought.

' _ **The nerve of Naruto trying to steal the spotlight and sound all cool'**_ Ino thought.

' _ **I'm glad Naruto is confident, but did he really have to put a target on our team's back'**_ Sakura thought as she sighed and gave Naruto a smile.

' _ **Naruto-kun never backs down and never gives up. That's the attitude he has, and that's why he'll become Hokage'**_ Hinata thought also giving Naruto a smile as she leaned on Sasuke.

' _ **He's such an idiot, but he's right. There aren't many Genin who can challenge him this time around'**_ Sasuke thought still smirking at his best friend.

Kabuto just shook his head and smiled at the blond kids antics. He would certainly be an interesting one to study. Then the proctor for the first part of exams showed up causing everyone to look at him.

"My name is Ibiki Morino and I am in charge of the first part of the Exams. Its a written test with 10 questions and if you get caught cheating you will be removed from the exams and you will have to try again next time" Ibiki explained.

Everyone nodded in understanding as they took their seats and began their tests.

XxXxXx

After the grueling test was complete. Ibiki announced that there was a 10th question, but when explained that if they got it wrong they wouldn't be able to retake the exams, many teams walked out of the room. Naruto, of course, made another declaration about how he won't give up and how he'll be Hokage someday regardless.

After his declaration, everyone who was left had resolved to stay for the 10th question only to find out that the 10th question was whether or not they were mentally strong enough to stay, even if it risked the chance for them to fail.

The next examiner, Anko Mitarashi, soon showed up with a much more intimidating aura around her than Ibiki. Even Naruto stayed quiet when she talked.

"It's been easy up till now. The next phase of the Chunin exams will take place in the Forest of Death" Anko said with an evil smirk making most of the Genin in the room shiver in fear with the only exceptions being Sasuke, Gaara, Neji and Kabuto.

"Well lets go" Anko said jumping out of the window she came in through. After a brief moment of silence the remaining Genin all followed the woman to their next testing destination.

XxXxXx

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were jumping through the Forest of Death. They had a Heaven's scroll and were currently searching for anyone with an Earth's scroll that they could take. Anko had explained the rules of the test and they were determined to get the test done as fast as they could.

Naruto had already sent dozens of clones out in different directions to make the search easier for them, while his original body stayed with his team. A clone of his had found Team 8 and Neji's Team and decided to tag along with them to help out in case he was needed.

Everything was going fine. They had been attacked by some grass ninja earlier, but they made quick work of them. They had another Heaven's scroll, but Sasuke took it anyway just in case they'd have to bargain with another team.

Then everything changed when they saw a lone grass ninja standing in the middle of a clearing. He had an Earth scroll in his hand, making Naruto and Sakura excited. Sasuke, knowing who the ninja secretly was, tensed a little at memories of his past life.

Sasuke still wasn't sure what to do with Orochimaru. The snake Sannin had been a large help in his previous life. He trained him for 3 years in many different jutsus and he also helped him build an immunity to most poisons. It was because of Orochimaru's training that Sasuke was as strong as he was today.

Even though Sasuke had ended up killing him, he only did it because he was trying to use his body as a vessel, and it was a hard fought fight. If Sasuke was being honest with himself, the only reason that he was able to kill Orochimaru was because of the fact that the Sannin was weakened because he needed a new body.

Sasuke also remembered how cooperative Orochimaru was when he revived him. He had summoned the previous Hokage, so that he could talk to them and figure out what he was going to do during the war.

Overall Orochimaru, despite being completely creepy, had helped Sasuke more than hurt him. It was then that Sasuke decided that it might benefit him more if he went to the sound village like he did in his past life, but he wasn't entirely sure.

However, he was eager to test his current full power against the Sannin, so when Naruto shouted out to him, Sasuke smirked.

"Hey we've got you surrounded. Give up the scroll peacefully or we'll have to forcefully take it from you" Naruto said confidently making Orochimaru chuckle.

"Oh is that so?" Orochimaru asked looking at Team 7 while licking his lips with that long tongue of his. Quicker than everyone, but Sasuke to see he formed hand signs and cast a Genjutsu.

Naruto and Sakura froze as blackness overwhelmed their senses, but it quickly ended. They both looked over at Sasuke gratefully as they knew that he saved them.

"You dispelled my Genjutsu with your Sharingan? How exciting" Orochimaru said smirking looking directly into Sasuke's blood red eyes.

"So I'm guessing you won't give up the scroll peacefully" Sasuke asked while getting into his fighting stance. Orochimaru just chuckled and swallowed the scroll causing Team 7 to give him disturbed looks.

' _ **Eww I forgot he did that. Orochimaru is so weird'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"You're much more interesting than I thought you'd be Sasuke-kun. Lets see if you know how to use your Sharingan" Orochimaru said charging at Sasuke only to be intercepted by 20 Naruto clones.

Orochimaru laughed and easily defeated the clones never losing his stride. He sent a punch that Sasuke caught easily. Orochimaru eyes widened as he felt a kunai pierce his chest making blood fly everywhere.

"Kai!" Orochimaru said immediately dispelling the Genjutsu that Sasuke had placed him in.

"Excellent! You're actually much stronger than I expected you to be. I'll give you my full attention" Orochimaru said before biting his thumb and slamming it on the ground.

"SUMMONING JUTSU" Orochimaru said as a large brown snake, slightly smaller than the trees, rose from the area where Orochimaru slammed his palm

"Go play with the others. Make sure they don't interfere with our fight" Orochimaru ordered. The snake gave a visible nod and whipped his large tail towards Team 7 making all of them dodge.

"Naruto, Sakura retreat for now" Sasuke ordered.

"What? You must be crazy if you think we're going to leave you alone with that creep" Sakura said incredulously. Naruto just looked at Sasuke. He and Sasuke held eye contact for a few seconds before Naruto smirked.

"Come on Sakura, we're going to take out the snake. Lets leave this guy to the Bastard" Naruto said confidently.

Sasuke smirked back. It still amazed him sometimes how well Naruto was able to read him. The loser could be observant when he wanted to be.

Sakura personally believed that both of her teammates were crazy, but she was out voted so she had no choice but to go along with whatever plan her teammates came up with.

"Go and destroy the snake. Return here as soon as you're done" Sasuke ordered. Sakura and Naruto nodded and took off into the trees.

"After them" Orochimaru ordered and the snake followed Naruto and Sakura leaving Sasuke and Orochimaru alone.

"Well Sasuke-kun shall we begin?" Orochimaru said smirking.

"Hmph you're really confident, I'll wipe that smile off your face" Sasuke said with his Sharingan glaring at Orochimaru.

Then the two charged at each other.

XxXxXx

Once they were a good distance away from Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura stopped running and turned to face the snake that was still pursuing them.

"So any ideas on how to deal with a giant Snake?" Sakura asked. Naruto laughed and his teammate.

"No clue, but I know how I'm going to start my attack" Naruto said summoning 500 clones and sent them all charging at the serpent. Sakura shook her head and threw all of her available Kunai at the snake.

With one swipe of its massive tail 200 of the Naruto clones were dispersed. The other 300 were trying to hold it down, but it was hardly working and soon only the original Naruto was left.

He and Sakura dodged the snake for as long as they could, but eventually they found themselves pinned to a tree by the snake.

"Naruto what are we going to do now?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Naruto was running out of options. He had plenty chakra as far as he could feel, but he didn't know any other techniques other than the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the snake easily dealt with them. He also wasn't strong enough to break out of the snake's hold. Naruto was searching his brain for ideas when a foreign voice entered his mind.

" **Honestly kid, you're struggling with low level summons. I guess you did better than you did last time but this snake should've been easily dealt with by now"** The voice said.

Naruto's eyes widened. This is the same voice that he'd heard periodically over the years, but he had always ignored it. He wondered if he should ignore it this time.

" **Don't shut me out this time Brat! I'm going to help you defeat this garden snake, but it'll leave you physically drained for a few hours"** the voice said again.

Naruto didn't have time to think over what the voice said because as soon as it stopped talking, Naruto felt a large swell of Chakra erupting inside of him.

Sakura looked on in fear as Naruto began to undergo a transformation. She watched as her friend was covered in a fiery red chakra and fangs protruded from his mouth. That wasn't even the scariest part to Sakura, Naruto's eyes were a deeper red than his chakra and his pupils had narrowed into slits.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura said hesitantly, not sure if her friend was still 'friendly.'

Naruto didn't say a word as his chakra kept building up. Eventually it burned the snakes tail and forced the summon to release them. Naruto flipped and rocketed off of the tree they were pinned on with a kunai in hand.

The snake summon hissed in pain and dispersed as Naruto drove the Kunai in between his snout.

Sakura looked at Naruto in shock when he turned around to look at her.

"Sakura did you see that? I'm strong believe it!" Naruto said smiling before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

"Naruto!" Sakura said as she went over to Naruto and checked her fallen friends pulse. She was relieved to find out that he was still alive and just unconscious.

' _ **I don't know what that power was that you just showed, but you saved us. I have to get back to Sasuke, but I can't take you there while you're unconscious. I'll just have to find someplace safe for me to hide you'**_ Sakura thought to herself as she picked up Naruto's body.

' _ **I'll be there to help soon Sasuke, just hold on'**_ Sakura thought as she hoped away to find a hiding spot for Naruto.

XxXxXx

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Orochimaru were fighting pretty evenly, but it was clear that Orochimaru was holding back. Every time Sasuke would get the advantage, Orochimaru would release more chakra and overwhelm him.

Orochimaru was throughly impressed by the power that Sasuke was showing though. He had originally planned to place a curse mark on Sasuke to make him realize that he should come to him for power, but after fighting him Orochimaru thought that a curse mark was no longer necessary. Sasuke's current power was on par with Kabuto's.

"You impress me Sasuke-kun. Your proficiency with your Sharingan should be praised and your speed is also outstanding for your age, but I can help you become even stronger" Orochimaru said once they broke apart.

Sasuke knew that a conversation like this was coming. Orochimaru must've realized that he was too strong to place a curse mark on and was currently trying to convince him with words.

"How do you think you can help me?" Sasuke asked with his Sharingan staring straight at Orochimaru.

"I am Orochimaru, one of the leafs legendary Sannin, I have acquired more jutsu than you could ever dream of. I am one of the strongest ninjas in the whole Shinobi world and I am offering you to become my pupil. You'll benefit greatly from studying under me" Orochimaru said.

' _ **Of course I'll benefit even more by making you my next vessel'**_ Orochimaru thought evilly to himself.

"So you're willing to train me and make me stronger for nothing in return?" Sasuke asked knowing that Orochimaru was after his body.

"Why Sasuke-kun you don't trust me?" Orochimaru asked with a small pout showing on his face.

"Don't toy with me. Did you think that I was dumb enough to think that there wasn't a catch in your offer?" Sasuke asked performing the hand seals for his favorite jutsu.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock and delight when he saw Sasuke's Chidori. A young kid mastering that jutsu to such a level had Orochimaru a little nervous to see the full potential of Sasuke's power. If trained right, Sasuke could even surpass him in a small amount of time.

"So you're Kakashi's student. I assure you that I can teach you more than even he could. He may have been known to have copied a thousand jutsu, but I have mastered tens of thousands of jutsu" Orochimaru said with a smirk.

"Tell me what you get out of this and I might consider it" Sasuke said loudly so that he could be heard over the chirping of his Chidori.

"I simply want a pupil to maintain my legacy. Is that too much to ask for?" Orochimaru said.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Orochimaru must've really thought that he was gullible, and maybe he had been once upon a time, but Sasuke was all too aware of when the man was lying. Still, Sasuke decided to humor him anyway.

"And why have you chosen me as the one who will carry the legacy of the legendary Sannin Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru smiled with an unreadable expression on his face.

"It's on a whim. I just have a good feeling that it should be you. Maybe its fate" Orochimaru said as he shrugged.

Sasuke smirked at the Sannin, little did he know that they've been down this rode before. It was then that Sasuke decided that he would go to the Sound Village and train under Orochimaru once again, but this time he would handle it a little differently.

"Fine, I'll become your pupil after I complete the Chunin Exams" Sasuke said releasing the chakra in his hand and deactivating his Sharingan. Orochimaru's expression visibly brightened.

"Excellent! I can't wait to teach you everything I know" Orochimaru responded as he and Sasuke felt a chakra nearing them. Orochimaru chuckled and regurgitated the Earth scroll and threw it at Sasuke who caught it with the visible look of disgust on his face.

"Time to make it believable" Orochimaru said as he quickly zoomed behind Sasuke and hit him hard in the back of the head, knocking the unsuspecting Uchiha unconscious.

"Until next time Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru said laughing as he left the area.

XxXxXx

Sakura arrived at the area to see an unconscious Sasuke,but the other ninja was no where to be found. She also noticed that Sasuke had the Earth scroll in his hand so Sakura just figured that Sasuke defeated the other ninja.

She quickly grabbed Sasuke and placed him on her back before taking off into the trees back towards the spot that she hid Naruto's prone body.

' _ **I promise I will protect you two until you wake up'**_ Sakura thought resolutely standing guard next to her unconscious teammates' bodies, unaware that she was being watched.

 **TBC**

 **Bernadette Dei- I actually never even thought of that pairing but it seems interesting. You're right though it'll take far too long for them to meet**

 **Nevvy- lol the story does seem like that. I wanted to get most of the pairings out of the way before the action picked up. And thank you for such a great compliment! :)**

 **Bella-swan11- Naruto and Zabuza will have a heart to heart soon enough. Zabuza wants only the best for Haku lol**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Kakashi is going to get a few. I love Kakashi as well**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- Thank you for defending the SasuHina lovers!**

 **DarkCherry (Guest)- Thank you for your review. I hope this chapter satisfied you as well**

 **Emma (Guest)- I can understand what you mean about the characters being OOC, and how it seems like there's no struggle, but please be patient. Its coming**

 **Mico4mux- Thank you**

 **Pro-Uchiha- I didn't even catch that lol. I just had to give her something else because she couldn't say what she did in canon but Thank you for your review**

 **Thank you to everyone who continues to Read and Review. It gives me the motivation to keep going. Until next time - Dishon 3**


	10. Chunin Exams Pt 2

**Chapter 10**

Sakura looked to the left when she heard the ruffling of the bushes next to her. She narrowed her eyes and threw a kunai into the bushes; when nothing happened she let out a breathe of relief.

However, a deep voice behind her made her tense up.

"You have some pretty good aim girl. Too bad you missed your target."

Sakura turned to see 3 shinobi standing across from her. She looked at their headbands to see that they were from the Sound Village. Sakura immediately took out another kunai and got into her fighting stance.

"If you're here for a scroll then you're out of luck. Someone already took ours" Sakura lied trying to persuade the sound nin.

"We don't care about a damn scroll girl, we want to fight Sasuke, so bring him out here now" The one with the mask said while glaring at her.

' _ **They want to fight Sasuke? Heh these Bastards are lucky he's unconscious right now, or he'd wipe the floor with all of them'**_ Sakura thought smugly.

"I'm not going to get him, so if you want Sasuke then you'll have to go through me first" Sakura said confidently.

"Stop wasting our time girl, Dosu already told you want we wanted, so bring Sasuke out or we'll be forced to kill you and get him ourselves" The other male sound nin said taking a step forward in warning.

Sakura felt a small shiver of fear run through her body before she smirked at the sound nin.

"It's cute that you think that you could kill me. Save your threats for someone that they'll actually work on" Sakura said.

The boy that spoke to Sakura growled and began to advance towards her until his female comrade stopped him.

"What's the big idea Kin? You heard her challenge us" The boy said angrily. He was confused that his comrade stopped him.

"Simple Zaku, I wanna be the one to deal with this girl. It'll be a pleasure to watch the life drain from her eyes. Don't interfere" Kin said stepping forward. Zaku smirked and went to sit next to Dosu.

"Fine, Fine, but don't expect us to let you fight Sasuke" Zaku said casually. Kin rolled her eyes and advanced towards Sakura who was already in a defensive position.

Kin smirked and threw shuriken at Sakura who blocked all of them with her kunai swiftly. She swung her fist at Kin, who dodged and kicked Sakura in the stomach, sending her flying into a nearby tree. The impact put a dent in the tree, as Sakura fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of her.

She was struggling to get up when she felt Kin roughly grab her long hair, tugging her up onto her knees as she grunted in pain. Kin laughed to herself.

"All that tough talk and that was all you were capable of? That wasn't even fun, but at least your screams are entertaining" Kin said as she kept pulling Sakura's hair.

Sakura was trying to escape, but Kin's grip was too tight in her hair. She only had one option at freedom, so Sakura mentally resolved herself and smirked at Kin, surprising the girl.

"Anyone ever tell you that you talk to much?" Sakura asked before she took her kunai and chopped the part of her hair that Kin was holding off.

Kin was holding Sakura's hair so tightly that when Sakura cut it off she lost her balance. Sakura saw her opportunity and capitalized on Kin's unbalance. She swiftly got up and sent her strongest punch with a battle cry on her lips.

"CHA" Sakura shouted as she punched Kin into the air and threw a kunai at a rope connecting her trap.

Dosu and Zaku's eyes widened when they saw a giant log heading towards Kin in mid air. Neither of them could save her as the log connected with Kin's body sending her careening towards the ground where she smashed into the ground hard knocking her unconscious.

Sakura smirked at Kin's still body before she was blown back by a gust of wind. She looked up to she Zaku with his hands pointing towards her. Sakura managed to give him a weak smile and shakily got to her feet.

"So I see you wanna be next" Sakura said before screaming and covering her ears.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she fell to her knees still covering her ears.

Dosu stepped forward with his arm out towards Sakura.

"Don't worry about it, me explaining my jutsu would be wasted on someone who's about to die. Zaku finish the girl off" Dosu said dispelling the jutsu when he was sure that Sakura was rendered immobile.

"Gladly. **SLICING SOUNDWAVE** " Zaku said and a large gust of sound waves traveled towards Sakura's prone form at a fast speed.

Sakura closed her eyes tightly to prepare for the pain, but the voice she heard made her eyes open in surprise and relief.

" **ROTATION."**

XxXxXx

Hinata was racing towards Team 7's location with her Byakugan active. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru were having trouble keeping up, but they were following Hinata to the best of their ability.

Hinata was worried about Team 7. When Naruto's shadow clone dispersed, she instantly knew that something was wrong. So, she activated her Byakugan and searched the forest for Team 7, but she couldn't find them.

Then she saw that Neji also had his Byakugan activated and was speeding towards an unknown location.

' _ **He must be heading towards Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan too, I can't see them with my Byakugan, so I'll just have to follow him and hope that he leads me to them'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she jumped onto another branch.

Kiba and Shino looked at each other, but didn't question Hinata's reasoning for going in this direction and simply followed after her.

They were jumping for a few more minutes before Hinata could see Team 7 with her Byakugan. A frown appeared on her face when she noticed that there were more people around them, and by the look of their chakra, they weren't friendly.

"We have to hurry up! Sasuke-kun and the others are in trouble. Be ready for a fight when we get there" Hinata said to her teammates.

Kiba let a fanged smirk show at the prospect of fighting and Akamaru barked to show his owners excitement. Shino simply raised his glasses, but his insects swirled around him in anticipation.

' _ **We'll be there soon, just hang on'**_ Hinata thought as she sped up with her teammates following behind.

XxXxXx

Sakura opened her eyes to see Neji crouched in front of her protectively with his Byakugan activated. She was shocked to see him, but she was very happy that Neji had gotten there in time to save her.

"Sakura you fought well, but I'll take it from here. Just go guard Sasuke and Naruto while I handle this garbage" Neji said. Sakura smiled and did as Neji instructed while Zaku sneered.

"What is this? More trash from this 2nd rate village has come to save the day?" Zaku said mocking Neji.

"That's tough talk. That must make your village 3rd rate then" Neji said making both Zaku and Dosu growl at him.

"Enough talk lets see if you can back it up" Dosu said charging at Neji.

Neji smirked and deactivated his Byakugan, relaxing out of his stance surprising both Dosu and Zaku, but they weren't surprised for long. Dosu was kicked into the air from behind and he was wrapped by bandages while he was suspended in the air.

" **HIDDEN LOTUS."**

Dosu was being spiraled towards the ground by a ninja in green spandex. Zaku saw the danger in the technique and softened the ground where Dosu landed to cushion the blow. When Dosu got up, he dusted himself off and glared at the ninja.

"That was an impressive technique. Who are you?" Dosu said.

He was answered by a blinding smile as the ninja in green spandex extended one hand towards them.

"I am the leaf's Handsome Devil, Rock Lee" Lee answered.

"It's about time you got here Lee, where is Tenten?" Neji said as he stood side by side with his teammate.

"Tenten is with Sakura guarding over the unconscious bodies of Sasuke and Naruto, so it is up to us to dispose of these Sound ninjas" Lee said.

"That's fine. We're more than enough to handle these idiots" Neji said activating his Byakugan and getting into his stance.

Dosu looked at Neji and Lee with a serious expression before turning to Zaku.

"These are no ordinary Genin. Go full power from the start, or you will die" Dosu said. Zaku smirked and responded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's see if they can keep up with me."

The four ninjas sized each other up for a moment, but right before they charged at each other a dark chakra was felt. Neji's eyes widened at what he felt.

' _ **Is that you, Sasuke?'**_ Neji thought as he turned his head to the side and saw the menacing form of Sasuke approaching them.

XxXxXX

Sasuke was pissed when he regained consciousness. He was mad at Orochimaru but he was also mad at himself because he didn't notice Orochimaru sneak up behind him and knock him out. Sasuke thought that he was too powerful to allow something like that to happen, but Orochimaru just reminded him that he was still weaker than he needed to be.

' _ **That damn snake probably just wanted to demonstrate his superiority to me. He wanted to prove how much I needed him in order to get stronger by speed blitzing me'**_ Sasuke thought as he sat up.

He saw Sakura's bloodied and beaten body with Tenten next to her. When Sakura noticed that he was up she tried to stand up and greet him, but her injuries hurt her too much,so she remained seated.

"Sasuke you're up!" She said relieved.

"Who did this to you Sakura?' Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan. He slightly remembered this moment, but he wasn't thinking clearly enough to fully remember it. All Sasuke could think about was how angry he was.

Sakura was petrified by the look in Sasuke's eyes. She'd never felt this much anger radiating off of Sasuke before and his Sharingan glowed in a threatening way. Sakura couldn't even speak as her throat went dry, but she didn't have to say anything as Tenten spoke up.

"It was the two sound ninja out there, but don't worry Neji and Lee are about to take care of them."

After hearing this, Sasuke turned and walked out from their hiding space and headed towards the Sound Nin.

' _ **That damn snake, I'll show him just how powerful I really am when I send his wimpy ninja back to him one body part at a time'**_ Sasuke thought with bloodlust radiating off of him in waves. Sasuke smirked.

' _ **It's been a while since I've snapped someone's neck.'**_

XxXxXx

Dosu's eyes widened when he felt the bloodlust coming off of Sasuke. He even started to visibly shake when Sasuke's ruby red eyes glared in their direction.

' _ **Lord Orochimaru didn't say he'd be this strong, maybe it'll be best to retreat'**_ Dosu thought as he began to back away in fear, and even Neji and Lee took a few steps back in shock. Unfortunately, his teammate didn't seem to be able to sense Sasuke's power or bloodlust and smirked at Sasuke.

"It's about time you've come out Sasuke. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show yourself" Zaku said.

"You were the one who hurt Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Is that the pink haired girl's name? I never bothered to ask while I was blasting her" Zaku replied laughing making Neji tense.

His laughing stopped when he heard that Sasuke was laughing with him. Sasuke's laugh sent chills down the spine of everybody there.

"I'm glad that you can face your death with a laugh. Because of your actions, my teammate is hurt, so now I'll return her pain a hundred fold" Sasuke replied when his laughing stopped.

Before Zaku could respond to what Sasuke had said, he blinked and saw that Sasuke had appeared right in front of him.

' _ **What!? How did he get in front of him? I didn't even see him move'**_ Dosu thought with wide eyes.

' _ **Sasuke is incredible, he moved even faster than I can without my weights on. So this is what the prodigy of the Uchiha Clan can do'**_ Lee thought in amazement.

' _ **Sasuke has snapped, I've never seen his power this unrestrained before. He has more power than I thought he did. It's almost scary, but I'll just have to catch up'**_ Neji thought while watching Sasuke's chakra swirl with his Byakugan.

Zaku barely had time to think as he extended his hands towards Sasuke.

" **SLICING SOUNDWAVE"** Zaku said trying to hit Sasuke with his Chakra.

Sasuke dodged the blast and grabbed Zaku's arm, holding it in a tight grip as he smirked at him.

"You seem to be proud of these arms you have. I wonder how proud you'll be when you can't use them" Sasuke said as he twisted his arm until a sickening crack was heard.

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Sasuke brutally snap Zaku's right arm. Zaku passed out because of the intense pain he felt. Sasuke was holding Zaku's limp form by his broken arm. He looked like he was thinking about something, then everyone saw that he was making hand signs with one hand.

A chirping sound was soon heard as a Chidori appeared on Sasuke's hand. He released Zaku's broken arm and grabbed Zaku's other arm and he was about to amputate his other arm when he felt a body hugging him from behind. He tensed, but he relaxed when he realized who the person was that grabbed him.

"Sasuke-kun please stop"

XxXxXX

Hinata arrived just in time to see Sasuke break one of the sound nin's arms. Hinata had never seen Sasuke so ruthless before, and she hadn't seen his Sharingan that intense since he saved her from the Kumogakure nin.

Hinata didn't like this side of Sasuke, he was scaring her, and from the looks of it he was scaring everyone else as well. She looked around to see how everyone else was reacting.

Shino's bugs had disappeared as if they were scared of the dark aura Sasuke was emitting.

Kiba was visibly shaken, but he was trying to comfort Akamaru who had hid in Kiba's jacket.

Sakura and Tenten were both looking at Sasuke with fear visible in their eyes.

The other sound ninja was backed against a tree, but he didn't try to move, or escape. It was like he was scared to make any sudden moves to prevent Sasuke's attention from falling on him.

Lee was pale and it looked as if he wasn't comfortable with Sasuke's brutality.

Neji had his normal stoic face but Hinata could clearly see the cold sweat that was falling down his forehead.

When she saw Sasuke summon a Chidori, she knew that she had to do something to stop him. Sasuke had obviously crossed a line and Hinata was determined to bring him back.

She ran up behind him and grabbed him in a tight hug, and when she felt him tense she spoke.

"Sasuke-kun please stop."

XxXxXx

Sasuke let the Chidori disappear and he deactivated his Sharingan as he cooled down. He looked at Zaku and realized that he had lost his temper and gave in to his dark side. He knew that if Hinata hadn't stopped him, he would've cut Zaku's arm off and possibly did even more than that.

Sasuke turned to speak to Hinata, but he frowned when he noticed that Dosu was approaching them. He turned so that Hinata was behind him in case Dosu tried something dumb.

"You're strong Sasuke, too strong. Here let's make a deal; I'll give you this scroll and you let us walk away" Dosu said placing the scroll on the ground. After seeing Sasuke nod, Dosu collected his unconscious teammates and retreated.

Shaking himself out of his shocked state Kiba went and picked up the scroll his eyes lit up when he realized that it was an Earth scroll.

"Hey Sasuke do you need this scroll?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke looked at the scroll then at Hinata as he said.

"You guys can have it."

Hinata gave Sasuke a bright smile before she left Sasuke's side to go heal Sakura.

Once it was clear that Sasuke was cooled off, Lee turned to Neji.

"Sasuke is quite frightening when he's angry huh?" Lee asked his friend.

Neji couldn't help, but nod as he thought back to Sasuke's dark aura. He shudders when he thought about what would've happened to the sound nin if Hinata hadn't came when she did.

"Hyuuga come here" Sasuke said.

Neji walked over to Sasuke. Even though Neji had felt Sasuke's bloodlust he wasn't afraid of him. Sasuke had been one of his closest friends for a long time, so Neji knew that he wouldn't try to harm him.

"Do you have both scrolls?" Sasuke asked.

"No we only have an Earth scroll, why do you ask?" Neji said.

"We have an extra Heaven scroll that your team can have, we should travel as a unit to get to the training facility. I'd rather get out of this Forest as soon as possible" Sasuke said holding out the Heaven scroll for his friend to take.

Neji looked down at the scroll for a moment and then grabbed it with a smirk.

"That sounds fine by me, It also benefits us if we get attacked. I doubt a team of 3 will attack a group with 9 people" Neji said.

Sasuke just nodded and looked on as Hinata healed Naruto . She was already done healing Sakura, and Sakura was looking at her body in amazement.

"Looks like Sakura got a haircut huh? She looks different" Sasuke said. Neji rolled his eyes.

"You didn't see what happened, it was a smart move on her part and she managed to defeat one of them by herself" Neji defended.

"Yeah, Yeah" Sasuke said tuning into the conversation Sakura and Hinata were having.

"You know medical ninjutsu Hinata? Do you think you can teach me?" Sakura asked. Hinata blushed a little.

"I barely know more than the basics honestly, but I can teach you what I know" Hinata said and Sakura gave her a big smile, but before she could thank Hinata, Naruto finished healing and woke up.

He looked around frantically for any signs of danger, but when he noticed that everyone was just staring at him, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and asked.

"What I miss?" Causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"You missed Sasuke defeat the enemy sound nin while you were sleeping" Neji teased.

"What? Sasuke is taking all the glory? Don't worry guys I'll protect you from now on so that Sasuke won't have too. Believe It!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke just ignored Naruto and addressed his friends.

"Lets get going. We all have the necessary scrolls that we need, so we'll head to the exam arena to wait for the end of this exam together. Neji find the building and lead the way" Sasuke said.

Everyone nodded and took off towards the exam building.

XxXxXx

While they were on their way to the training arena, Hinata spoke to Sasuke in the back of the group.

"Sasuke what was that back there? Why did you have such a dark chakra?" Hinata asked. Sasuke knew that she was serious when she left the '-kun' out of his name.

"I just lost my the temper, I'll try not to let it happen again" Sasuke said.

"You were going to cut his arm off with your jutsu. That's not the Sasuke I know; The Sasuke I know would never do something that gruesome" Hinata said.

' _ **I'm glad you don't know how bad I was in my past life, I'll try my best not to become the man I was then'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Can you try not to lose yourself like that Sasuke? I fear for what you'd do to people" Hinata asked silently pleading with her eyes.

"I'll try my best not too, but I can't make any promises Hinata. Especially if someone tries to hurt the people I care about" Sasuke said honestly.

Hinata nodded in understanding and dropped the conversation for the moment, though Sasuke could feel that the conversation wasn't over.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and others were currently on a balcony overlooking a one on one match between Kin and Lee. Sasuke was nervous for the fighting order this time around.

Kabuto had forfeited again and Sasuke had fought Kabuto's teammate like he did last time, and he handled him with little difficulty, but he remembered that after that match Kakashi had taken him away to seal his curse mark. This time he didn't have the curse mark, so he had stayed to watch the following matches.

Shino had taken care of the handicapped Zaku with relative ease. His bugs clogged up the holes in Zaku's hands making his chakra weapon useless.

Kankuro had easily handled Kabuto's other teammate.

Sakura and Ino had an decent match with neither wanting to lose. Ino trapped Sakura in the 'Mind Transfer Jutsu' and it seemed like the match was over, but somehow Sakura had escaped it and the battle continued. They ended up knocking each other out, and their match resulted in a tie. It was a little anti-climatic if you asked him.

Temari had beaten Tenten. Tenten had no way of touching Temari with her powerful wind style attacks, but even though she lost Sasuke was impressed with Tenten's mastery of weapons.

Shikamaru beat Kiba and Akamaru. Sasuke had to admit that Kiba and his dog put up a pretty good fight, but in the end Shikamaru's superior ninjutsu and flawless strategy were too much for Kiba and Akamaru to overcome.

Sasuke was brought out of his musings when he heard Hayate say that Lee won. Sasuke was not surprised that Lee destroyed Kin, who Sasuke was told Sakura had knocked unconscious in the Forest of Death. After hearing that, Sasuke knew that she had no chance against Lee. Even without him using the 8 gates technique or taking off his weights.

Sasuke had enjoyed the matches so far but he was starting to worry. He looked up at the board to see that there were only 5 people left that Hinata could face.

Naruto Uzumaki, who Sasuke wouldn't mind her facing because he knew Naruto wouldn't brutally hurt Hinata.

Neji Hyuuga, who Sasuke wasn't worried about for the same reason as Naruto.

Choji Akimichi, who Sasuke thought Hinata could easily defeat.

Dosu Kinuta, the masked sound ninja that gave him their scroll. Sasuke couldn't get a read on how much power he had, but he was fairly confident that Hinata could defeat him. He also knew that he wouldn't kill Hinata because he knew how close she was to him. Dosu would avoid his wrath at all times after their last encounter in the forest of death.

And the last person Sasuke didn't even want to think about Hinata facing, but of course fate wanted to screw him over, once again.

"The next match is Hinata Hyuuga vs. Gaara of the Desert" Hayate announced making Sasuke's heart drop.

' _ **Oh no'**_ Sasuke thought as he turned his head to see Hinata leave the safety of the balcony and head to the battle ground.

Sasuke had no choice, but to watch and support Hinata, however, Sasuke already knew that if Gaara tried to seriously hurt Hinata then he will step in.

XxXxXx

Hinata looked into the soulless eyes of the boy standing across from her. Hinata felt that this boy had the same dark aura around him that Sasuke had when he was about to cut off the sound nin's arm.

Hinata was nervous, but she was also determined to do her best. She'd never quit and she'd never give up besides she wanted to make her friends proud while watching her.

"Are you ready?" Hayate asked Hinata and Gaara. When he saw that both Gaara and Hinata nodded he began the match.

Hinata activated her Byakugan as she got into her stance. She was impressed by how much chakra Gaara actually possessed.

Gaara pointed his hand forward and a giant wave of sand rushed toward Hinata. Hinata began to spin.

" **ROTATION"** Hinata shouted as she deflected the heavy wave of sand.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He couldn't see Hinata after she blocked his sand, then his eyes widened when Hinata appeared in front of him with one arm back.

" **GENTLE FIST"** Hinata sent her open palm towards Gaara only to have it blocked by Gaara's sand.

Hinata's eyes widened as Gaara gave her a sadistic smirk. Then Hinata was smacked away by his sand.

Hinata skidded across the floor from the force of the hit, but she managed to get back up. She coughed up a little bit of blood when she stood showing that the hit had done quite a bit of damage.

"And now the carnage begins" Gaara said as he sent his sand towards Hinata.

XxXxXx

Sasuke was shaking as he watched Gaara smack Hinata around all across the arena, but the worse part about the beating is that every time Hinata was knocked down she steadily got back to her feet before Hayate could stop the match. No matter how much Gaara brutalized her, she refused to give up.

Sasuke was having trouble controlling himself and he had gripped the rail so tightly that the metal had bent where he was holding it, but he wasn't the only one who was struggling to keep it together.

Neji had his Byakugan activated and his usual stoic demeanor was replaced by the visible expression of anger.

"He's toying with her. This can't be allowed" Neji said twitching.

Sasuke couldn't help, but agree with his friend.

"LET ME GO BUSHIER BROW SENSEI! THIS BASTARD IS HURTING HINATA-CHAN, I HAVE TO STOP HIM" Naruto shouted while Gai was holding him, so he wouldn't interfere with the match.

Kiba and Akamaru were getting held back by Kurenai and Shino was just standing there with his arms crossed seemingly unaffected, but his insects were violently flying around his body.

Kakashi was looking at Sasuke with concern on his face. He had long since lifted his headband just in case he needed to contain Sasuke, but surprisingly Sasuke hadn't done more than crush the metal railing. However, his swirling Chakra had Kakashi on edge and he wasn't the only one who felt it.

Every Jonin in the arena was looking at Sasuke as his chakra steadily rose with each hit Hinata received. Gaara noticed it as well.

He looked at Sasuke with an evil smirk as he extended a hand towards Hinata and let his sand cover Hinata's left arm.

" **SAND COFFIN"** Gaara said while looking Sasuke right in his eyes.

Hinata let out a blood curdling scream as she felt the bones in her arm shatter.

That scream made everyone react instantly. Asuma had ordered Shikamaru to place a Shadow Possesion Jutsu on Shino to keep him from moving as he went and grabbed Neji just before he could finish jumping over the railing.

Naruto had Red Chakra swirling around him while he thrashed around violently, Gai had to unlock his 5th Gate to continue holding Naruto back.

Kakashi reached for Sasuke only to get an elbow to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him long enough for Sasuke to spped towards Gaara.

Sasuke grabbed Gaara's neck and pinned him into the wall faster than his sand could react. Gaara's eyes narrowed, but he felt his stomach turn in fear as he looked into the bleeding red eyes of Sasuke.

Everyone was shocked to see that Sasuke had Gaara pinned against the wall. Only the Hokage and Jonin were even able to see Sasuke move, while the Genin were amazed. Kankuro and Temari were the most surprised. They had never seen their little brother get touched, let alone pinned. Everyone was quiet as they listened to Sasuke speak.

"If you attack her again, I'll kill you" Sasuke said while tightening his grip on Gaara's neck when he noticed Gaara's sand surround him.

"You won't be the first to try and you won't be the last to fail" Gaara replied with his voice holding just as much venom as Sasuke's had.

Soon after this exchange of words, Sasuke was grabbed by Kakashi and Hayate while Baki and Anko grabbed Gaara. The two boys were pulled apart with both of their auras clashing, everyone could feel the killing intent in the air, and it was enough to even make some of the Jonin sweat.

Sasuke let Kakashi and Hayate pull him away from Gaara as he walked towards Hinata, who was struggling to stay conscious.

"Hinata everything will be fine" Sasuke said as some of the blood from his eyes dripped on the ground next to her. Hinata weakly opened her eyes to look at Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke-kun I t-tried my best, but I-I couldn't even t-touch him" Hinata said.

"Shush you did great. Now relax" Sasuke said softly. Hinata smiled as she lost consciousness, the medics approached them cautiously.

"Hurry Up, get her to a hospital" Sasuke said glaring at the medic nin making them speed up.

Once Hinata was safely out of the building, Hayate announced that Gaara had won via disqualification since Sasuke had interfered with the match.

"You better hope that we aren't paired together next round, or I will inflict all the pain that you made her feel today, on you" Sasuke promised glaring.

"You can try Uchiha. I hunger for your blood as well" Gaara responded glaring right back at him.

Sasuke and Gaara continued to glare at each other and might've been about to start their fight then and there, but Sasuke was restrained and escorted out of the arena by Kakashi and The 3rd Hokage, who had approached Sasuke when he noticed the look in his eyes.

Once they were outside, Hiruzen addressed Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, something major has happened."

"What is it? I'm not in the mood for games right now Lord 3rd" Sasuke said impatiently, he wanted to get to the Hospital as soon as possible to be there for Hinata, and if they were planning on scolding him, he didn't want to waste his time explaining his actions.

"You've unlocked your Mangekyo Sharingan" Hiruzen said looking as Sasuke's eyes widened in shock before he deactivated his Sharingan.

"This is a big deal, so we will discuss what to do at the conclusion of the preliminary rounds. I expect you in my office tomorrow morning and if you decide not to show then Kakashi will come get you. For now you can go to the Hospital and see Hinata, but you're not permitted to approach Gaara of the Desert" Hiruzen said. His voice telling Sasuke that he was serious.

Sasuke nodded and took off without another word towards the Hospital to be with Hinata.

 **TBC**

 **Bella-swan- Thank you for your review. I agree with you whole heartedly that Sasuke's got some explaining to do to Hinata and the others. As far as him talking to Jiraiya... That would be interesting**

 **Kiss2lips- Thank you and yes Sasuke has resolved himself to leave, and Hinata will have a lot to say about that when he tells her**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you. And everyone is going have a lot to say to Sasuke before he leaves**

 **Nevvy- Thank you and I agree the Chunin Exams is the arc where the action picks up**

 **Bernadette Dei- Sasuke and Gaara had a brief interaction this chapter, but they will have a bigger fight as well**


	11. Brief Intermission

**Chapter 11**

The next morning Sasuke was in the Hokage's office with Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage.

Sasuke knew that him unlocking his Mangekyo would cause a panic and considering the fact that the last Uchiha who unlocked his Mangekyou massacred his own clan; they had a valid reason to worry about him.

Even though he knew all of this, Sasuke was still feeling impatient. Hinata had stayed unconscious threw the night, so Sasuke was still a little worried about his girlfriend. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone other than Hinata herself.

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts when the 3rd Hokage spoke to him.

"Sasuke-kun, yesterday because of the grief you were feeling during Hinata-kun's match you were able to unlock a legendary power within your clan; the Mangekyou Sharingan" Hiruzen said.

Sasuke nodded, Itachi had already explained to him in his past life how rare unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan was. Speaking of Itachi, he'd need to talk to him soon if he was going to prevent Itachi from going blind from overusing his own Mangekyou.

"You are one of the few people who I've ever known to have it. The only Uchihas that I could recall who unlocked the power was your father Fugaku, Shisui and your brother Itachi. All of them were very powerful and very dangerous, and unfortunately none of them are currently around to help you control it" Hiruzen said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the obvious information, Sasuke had half the mind to expose the 3rd Hokage right here in front of Kakashi, but Sasuke knew that it would be the wrong move, besides Sasuke knew that the 3rd Hokage was fated to die in a month and Sasuke had no plans on saving him.

"However, there is someone in the village who is capable of helping you" Hiruzen finished as he looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded and lifted his headband revealing his Sharingan. Then he focused more chakra into his eye until it changed into a Mangekyou

Sasuke didn't have to fake his surprise at Kakashi's Mangekyou. He knew that at some point his sensei had unlocked it, but he didn't know that he had it at this point. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why his sensei didn't use it against Zabuza.

But as soon as he got a good look at it, it disappeared and reverted back to the normal Sharingan and Kakashi dropped to his knees panting.

"Sorry, It always drains my chakra extremely fast, and I still haven't even began to master it" Kakashi said as he caught his breath.

Hiruzen nodded at Kakashi in understanding as he turned to look at Sasuke.

"I'm glad that I made Kakashi you're sensei, as he is the only person here who can help you. For the next month until the final round of the Chunin Exams, I want you two to train your Mangekyos, and once you master it you two will become even greater assets to village" Hiruzen said cheerfully.

Sasuke's image instantly darkened at the mention of being an 'asset' to the village, but he managed to return his face to his normal stoic persona. However, it wasn't fast enough because Kakashi noticed it.

"If thats all you have to say to me, then I'll be going. I have to get to the hospital" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Of course Sasuke-kun, give Hinata-kun my regards" Hiruzen said smiling.

Sasuke turned and was about to leave when Kakashi spoke up.

"Actually Sasuke I'm going to come with you, we have some things to discuss anyway" Kakashi said looking Sasuke in the eye.

Sasuke suddenly had flashbacks to the end of their last conversation.

 **Flashback**

" _ **Thanks... Kakashi?" Sasuke started hesitantly.**_

" _ **Hmm?" Kakashi asked noticing the shift in the mood of the teenager.**_

" _ **If I were to try to get revenge on those responsible for the slaughter of my clan would you try to stop me?" Sasuke asked in a tone that could be interpreted as 'Nervousness'. Sasuke would never admit to that though.**_

"" _ **Of course not. I am your sensei and comrade, but I'm also your friend. If you ask for help then I'd do everything in my power to help you" Kakashi said with no hesitation. Sasuke was still skeptical.**_

" _ **Would you help me even if it meant breaking the rules?" Sasuke asked.**_

 _ **That question had Kakashi thinking for a moment. He was a loyal Konoha shinobi. He would defend this village with his last breath and would never betray his home. He would, however, break a few rules, especially for someone he cared about. Kakashi gave Sasuke and genuine smile although he couldn't see it.**_

" _ **Remember the first thing I taught you Sasuke? Those who disobey the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse scum" Kakashi said with unwavering conviction.**_

 _ **Hearing this, Sasuke gave his Sensei a grateful look and a genuine smile shocking Kakashi for a moment. Kakashi didn't want to interrupt the bonding moment, but he had to know what he was planning to do.**_

" _ **So what do you plan on doing that requires you to break the rules? Are you going to leave the village so that you can go kill Itachi?" Kakashi asked.**_

" _ **That's just it Kakashi. Itachi is..."**_

 **End Flashback**

Sasuke knew that Kakashi wanted to finish their discussion, and Sasuke was more than happy to let his sensei know what he was planning. Kakashi had said himself that he was on his side right?

Sasuke nodded and left the Hokage's office with Kakashi following right behind him.

XxXxXx

Sasuke lead Kakashi to the Uchiha District where they'd have complete privacy. Once they got there Sasuke took a seat on the couch while Kakashi opted to lean against the wall.

"You already know what I want to talk about, so lets not beat around the bush and get straight to it" Kakashi said opening his Icha Icha Paradise book.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his sensei. He knew that Kakashi was serious, but the fact that he even pulled the book out in such a serious situation was annoying.

"Itachi was ordered to kill our clan" Sasuke said. Kakashi was right about getting straight to the point, and Sasuke wasn't in the mood for playing games.

As suspected Kakashi instantly closed the book and put it away. He looked at Sasuke with the unmistakeable look of surprise, not even bothering to hide it before his face got serious.

"Why would you say something like that? Do you have proof of this" Kakashi asked calmly.

"I don't have any concrete proof, but think about it. My clan was isolated from the village, and they were kept out of a lot of things in regards to Konoha. I remember my father talking to Itachi about some type of Coup one time" Sasuke said lying a little so that Kakashi could put the pieces together by himself.

"When Itachi was here, he served with me in the Anbu, but he was always kind hearted, and he always talked about you when we were off duty. I couldn't believe that he was the same boy that would massacre his own clan. If the Uchiha were planning a coup then I know someone who would order their massacre" Kakashi said.

"Who do you have in mind?" Sasuke asked even though he already knew.

"Danzo Shimura. He's a elder in the village and controls a secret organization called Root" Kakashi said.

"What is Root?" Sasuke asked genuinely curious. He couldn't recall ever hearing anything about Root before.

"They are like Danzo's Anbu. I was manipulated into joining after the Nine Tails attack and I was ordered on a mission to assassinate Lord 3rd. I was in a vulnerable position at the time so I accepted, but I quickly regained my senses and informed the Hokage of his treachery" Kakashi said shocking Sasuke.

"Wait, so if he committed treason against The 3rd Hokage, why is he still around?" Sasuke asked.

"I honestly have no idea why Lord Hokage pardoned Danzo his crimes, but I can see him ordering Itachi to kill his clan. No one had more love and devotion to the village than Itachi did, and Danzo likely exploited that" Kakashi said thinking of possible scenarios.

"And I think that Itachi left me alive so that I could kill him and avenge our clan, making sure that he'd get his punishment for killing our clan" Sasuke said frowning.

Kakashi could certainly understand where his student was coming from, and he had personally seen the dark side of Konoha. He knew that Danzo was twisted enough to order a massacre of an entire clan if he thought that it would benefit Konoha.

"So, assuming that you're right, what do you plan on doing about it? Danzo is a huge political figure here, so if you kill him it would cause a panic, not to mention that he has several members of root around him at all times. It'll be tough to get him alone in a one on one fight, and even if you do manage to get him alone, he's a formidable opponent" Kakashi said.

"I'll figure something out Kakashi, but I have to find Itachi and talk to him. He can help" Sasuke said.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"I won't lie to you Sasuke, that would require you breaking a lot of laws... but I'll support you and back you up. I've been meaning to get rid of Danzo anyway, so it benefits me as well" Kakashi said lazily.

Sasuke just smiled at his sensei

"Just don't make any rash decisions, and keep me informed of everything okay Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke simply nodded.

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, I have a date with Hanare that I'm already 15 minutes late for" Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hn. She's going to dump you if you keep showing up late for your dates" Sasuke said with mild amusement in his tone.

"I doubt that. We have a great relationship and we take care of each other, but I won't go into detail about it. You and Hinata are far too young for something like that right now" Kakashi said winking at Sasuke and laughing at the face his student made at him.

"What are you talking about? What do you two do that me and Hinata can't do?" Sasuke asked confused. Hearing the question, Kakashi chuckled and rubbed Sasuke's head.

"Hanare is helping me revive my clan" Kakashi said. At his sensei's words Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh yeah you're right. We're too young for clan restoration right now" Sasuke said while blushing a little at the thought of it.

"Yes you two are. However, when you reached the correct age I'll buy you a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, so that you're experience will be the best" Kakashi said starting to laugh.

Sasuke had never read an Icha Icha Paradise book in his life, so he didn't know what was in it, but he knew from Kakashi's laughter that it had something to do with sex. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to see Hinata feel free to let yourself out" Sasuke said as he walked out his house leaving a laughing Kakashi behind.

XxXxXx

When Sasuke walked into Hinata's hospital room he instantly noticed that he wasn't the only one there. Neji, Sakura, Haku, Naruto and Hanabi were all in the room as well.

"Sasuke-nii I haven't seen you in forever!" Hanabi exclaimed as she attached herself to Sasuke's hip.

Sasuke smirked and rubbed Hanabi's head before he addressed his friends.

"How is she doing?" He asked.

"She's recovering. The nurse said that she could regain her consciousness at any moment" Neji said.

Sasuke nodded and took a seat on Hinata's bed since all the chairs were occupied.

"By the way Bastard you missed my fight yesterday, so I'll fill you in on how I completely defeated Choji" Naruto said.

Haku sighed because she had already heard the story at least 20 times the previous day.

"I'll think I'll pass loser, besides you were supposed to beat Choji so I'm not all that impressed, but Neji how strong was Dosu at full power?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmph hardly a challenge. The idiot could of beat him" the Hyuuga Prodigy said with a smirk on his face.

Naruto wasn't sure whether to be offended or not, but when he was about to say something Haku grabbed his hand making the boy forget what was on his mind.

"Hn. Then I really wasn't needed in the Forest of Death" Sasuke mused out loud.

Sakura and Neji tensed at that, remembering Sasuke's evil aura, and the ruthless way he broke Zaku's arm.

"What happened in the Forest of Death Sasuke-nii?" Hanabi asked.

Sasuke thought for a moment before responding.

"I was protecting my friends, Neji and Lee could've handled it, but I wanted to personally make sure that the Sound nin didn't hurt anyone else" Sasuke said.

"Wow you're so cool!" Hanabi said looking up at Sasuke in amazement.

"I was there too you know" Naruto said.

"Really what did you do?" Hanabi asked.

Naruto was thinking of a cool way to say that he was unconscious, when Sakura spoke up to help him out.

"He was tired after fighting a giant snake" Sakura said not impressing Hanabi.

"I can beat a giant snake. That's not cool at all Naruto-kun" Hanabi said causing Naruto to mumble dejectedly to himself.

"Don't worry Naruto I'm sure that the giant snake was a formidable opponent. I'm impressed" Haku said kissing his cheek.

A bright smile instantly appeared on Naruto's face.

"So who are you facing in the finals Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

Everyone almost immediately noticed the shift in the atmosphere as Sasuke's aura darkened. Hanabi actually cowered behind Neji when she felt it, not that anyone could blame her.

"Gaara" Sasuke said before realizing that his aura was flaring and scaring Hanabi. He quickly controlled himself.

"Sorry Hanabi" Sasuke mumbled looking away from his friends unaware that Hinata was waking up.

XxXxXx

Hinata opened her eyes and was immediately assaulted by the bright lights of the hospital.

When her eyes adjusted she looked around to see her friends sitting in chairs and noticed Sasuke was sitting on her bed.

"How long was I out?" Hinata asked.

The awkward silence dispelled instantly when everyone realized that Hinata was awake. Hinata barely had time to blink before Hanabi had hugged her uninjured side.

"Nee-chan its great to see you awake, I was so worried about you" Hanabi said with tears in the corner of her eyes.

Hinata just smiled at her little sister and patted her head.

"Its just a broken arm, so I'm alright. I just passed out from chakra depletion and the pain" Hinata said reassuring her sister.

"Hinata-sama the doctors have operated on your arm, so you should be able to heal yourself the rest of the way when your chakra replenishes itself" Neji said.

Hinata nodded.

"So who are you guys facing in the final round of the Chunin exams next month?"

Hinata asked.

Neji and Naruto look at each other and smirked before replying at the same time.

"I'm fighting this idiot."

Hinata gasped in surprise while Sakura and Haku sighed simultaneously.

"I'm gonna wipe the floor with your cousin Hinata. He's going to wish that he wasn't paired up with me" Naruto said. Neji rolled his eyes.

"You must be dreaming if you think that you'll beat me. You were destined to lose against me the moment our match was scheduled" Neji replied.

"There you go with that Destiny crap again, you sound so stupid" Naruto said standing up. Neji raised his eyebrow.

"Why are you standing? Maybe you want to get embarrassed right now instead of waiting for the official match" Neji said arrogantly.

"I'll kick your ass right here and now" Naruto growled.

"Naruto please remind me, which one of us won our last sparring match?" Neji said.

"OH THAT'S IT!" Naruto said getting ready to lunge at Neji who had got up and activated his Byakugan.

They never got to each other, however, as Haku and Sakura smacked their respective boyfriends heads.

"You two have been doing this all day, and its ended the same way every time with us smacking you idiots. Look how uncomfortable you've made Hinata" Sakura said scolding the two teenagers while pointing in the direction of Hinata, Hanabi and Sasuke.

Hinata had a weird expression on her face while Sasuke and Hanabi were looking at them in amusement.

"He started it" Neji and Naruto said at the same time before glaring at each other.

"Maybe its best if we go get some food. Hinata needs to relax and that'll be impossible with you two arguing every time someone brings up your match" Haku said making Naruto smile in agreement.

"Great Idea babe! It's happy hour at Ichiraku's so lets get going. See you later Hinata" Naruto said while running out of the hospital room.

"Ugh we just had Ramen this morning" Sakura complained as she and Haku said goodbye to Hinata and followed after Naruto.

"Lets go Hanabi-sama" Neji said waiting for his younger cousin.

Hanabi wanted to stay with Hinata and Sasuke, but she knew her father would get mad if she left Neji. Besides when she saw the way Sasuke was looking at Hinata, she knew that if she stayed she'd be intruding on something.

"Okay nii-san, but you're taking me to the ice cream shop after Ichiraku's or I'll tell Sakura-chan about how you moan her name in your sleep" Hanabi teased as she walked out of the room.

Neji turned bright red as he looked at Sasuke and Hinata, who both seemed to be trying to hold back a laugh.

"Forget you heard her say that. Especially you Uchiha" Neji said trying to glare at him, but failing since his face was still red.

"Of course not Hyuuga. I hope you have good dreams tonight" Sasuke said causing Hinata to giggle.

Neji scoffed and walked out the room leaving Sasuke and Hinata alone.

XxXxXx

Once they were alone in the room, Hinata scooted over so that Sasuke could lay down next to her. The two had shared a bed before, so they weren't uncomfortable with laying together.

Hinata turned her head to the side to look at Sasuke.

"So who are you facing in the finals Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke frowned, but Hinata's presence kept him calm enough to repress his dark aura.

"Gaara. I'll pay him back for what he did too you Hime. He'll regret breaking your arm" Sasuke said while staring at the ceiling.

Hinata didn't like the tone of voice Sasuke used when talking about Gaara. While she was touched that Sasuke wanted to avenge her loss, but she didn't want Sasuke to lose himself while doing it.

"Oh I see. I know that you can beat him, but don't go overboard Sasuke-kun. Winning the match will be enough for me, you don't need to break his arm for him breaking mine" Hinata said.

Sasuke turned to look at Hinata. She was already looking at him with wide eyes, as if pleading with him not to hurt Gaara too much. Sasuke let out a chuckle.

"It's amazing to me how kind hearted you are Hime. You truly are a special type of person. One that I need to always be around if I'm going to stay sane" Sasuke said as he poked Hinata's forehead and then kissed it making her smile and blush.

Hinata cuddled into Sasuke grimacing a little when she moved her injured arm. Sasuke noticed and adjusted their positions so that Hinata was more comfortable laying on him.

The two laid together for what seemed like hours in a comfortable silence just enjoying each other's company until the hospital door opened and Kakashi and Hanare walked in with Hanare carrying flowers.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sasuke and Hinata laying in the bed together. Sasuke glared at his sensei silently warning him not to say something stupid, but of course Kakashi didn't heed the warning.

"Sasuke didn't we speak about this earlier? You and Hinata are too young to be trying to revive your clan right now. Me and Hanare are older, so it's okay for us" Kakashi said shaking his head like he was trying to scold Sasuke.

Everyone in the room besides Kakashi started blushing heavily at what the masked nin had said.

"Kakashi, I don't think you should be talking to him about that right now! Look at poor Hinata, she looks like she's about to faint" Hanare said while trying to control her own blush.

Hinata was blushing heavily at what Kakashi had just implied. When she looked at Sasuke and noticed the blush on his face, she blushed harder, so she began to feel light headed.

Sasuke tightened his hold on Hinata as he replied to Kakashi.

"You have about 10 seconds to explain why you are here before I Chidori you" Sasuke threatened.

"We were just checking on Hinata that's all. No need to get violent besides you wouldn't want to upset Hinata by leaving her side and starting a fight in her hospital room" Kakashi said smirking at Sasuke.

' _ **Hn. He's got some nerve pulling a stunt like that with Hinata around. He's lucky that she's here, or I would've attacked'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.

"Here Hinata. We got you some flowers, so that you're room won't look so boring while you're here" Hanare said setting the flowers down on the window seal by Hinata's bed.

"Thank you Hanare-san. They're beautiful" Hinata replied smiling at Hanare.

"We thought it would be best to bring them ourselves since Sasuke wasn't fulfilling his boyfriend duties by bringing you flowers" Kakashi said with a smile making Sasuke twitch.

"No Kakashi-sensei you're wrong, Sasuke is performing his 'Boyfriend Duties' perfectly. He couldn't treat me any better than he already does. He's perfect" Hinata said smiling brightly at Sasuke causing the Uchiha to smile back at her.

Hanare watched them with a smile on her face, as she grabbed Kakashi's arm and starting pulling him out of the room.

"Come on Kakashi, lets leave them alone. We did what we came here to do" Hanare said.

Kakashi struggled slightly in Hanare's hold, but one glare from the woman made the silver haired nin cooperate.

"It's nice to see you awake and recovering Hinata. I hope you get better soon, and Sasuke remember our training for the final round of the Chunin Exams start tomorrow morning" Kakashi said as he let Hanare pull him out of the room and closed the door leaving Sasuke and Hinata alone.

The room was quiet for a moment before Sasuke spoke.

"So I'm perfect huh?" Sasuke said.

Hinata could hear the smirk in Sasuke's voice when he spoke.

"Nope not at all. I just wanted to defend your pride in front of your sensei that's all" Hinata said with the wink.

Sasuke scoffed and cuddled with Hinata again. He wasn't convinced, but he'd let Hinata slide for now.

"Whatever you say Hime" Sasuke said before kissing her.

XxXxXx

Naruto and Haku were walking hand and hand through the village after leaving the Ramen shop.

Naruto and Neji had gotten into another argument about their match after they had finished eating, so Sakura and Haku thought it would be best to go their separate ways with their respective boyfriends.

Naruto stopped walking suddenly making Haku stop as well. She turned to Naruto with confusion on her face.

"Why'd you stop walking Naruto? I thought we were going to the Uchiha District to relax" Haku said.

Instead of replying he pulled her into him, Haku didn't have to ask why he did that because a second later a body flew past them and crashed into the ground. Naruto looked at the body and his eyes widened when he realized who it was.

"This is Ebisu! He's Konohamaru's snobby sensei, and I had to kick his butt once, but he's really strong. Who did this to him" Naruto said to himself.

"That should teach you to interrupt my research" A voice said.

Naruto and Haku turned their heads to see a tall man with long white hair glaring at Ebisu's body.

"Woah you're the one who beat Ebisu old man? You must be really strong" Naruto said excitedly. The man looked at Naruto with a frown.

"Old man? Kid do you know who I am?" the man asked.

"No. Why would I know who you are gramps?" Naruto asked. The man twitched.

' _ **Kids these days have no respect'**_ the man thought to himself before introducing himself in the flashiest way he could think of. Summoning a toad, he started his monologue.

"I am the most irresistible male ninja alive, author of the famous Icha Icha Paradise franchise, and one of the leaf's legendary 3 Sannin; Jiraiya the Toad Sage" Jiraiya said. Naruto looked at Jiraiya in amazement while Haku just stared at the man.

"Wow that's so cool! Can you train me? The finals for the Chunin Exams are next month and I want to get a lot stronger" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya looked at him for a minute before grunting and looking away.

"Why would I waste my time training you when I could be conducting my research?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the greatest Hokage one day" Naruto replied confidently causing Haku to smile at him.

Jiraiya looked at the boy in surprise.

' _ **This is Minato and Kushina's son? My Godson? Heh he's really grown up'**_ Jiraiya thought with a smirk slowly forming on his face.

"You'll be the greatest Hokage huh? That's a pretty big claim to make, are you prepared to back it up?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya with pure confidence on his face. Naruto didn't know why, but something in his gut was telling him that he needed to train with Jiraiya.

"I'm going to be the best Hokage no matter what! Believe it!" Naruto said.

"Fine then we start training tomorrow, where do you live at?" Jiraiya asked.

"I live in the Uchiha District with my friend Sasuke. We live in the biggest house there" Naruto replied.

"Okay I'll be there at 7 am tomorrow. Don't keep me waiting" Jiraiya said as he walked away waving.

Naruto looked at Haku with pure excitement.

"You hear that babe? He said that he'd train me!" Naruto said picking Haku up and twirling her around in the air.

Haku giggled at Naruto as he spun her, but their moment was soon interrupted.

"What are you doing with Haku brat?"

Naruto stopped spinning Haku and looked to see Zabuza advancing towards them. Naruto immediately put Haku down when he felt the chilling aura coming from Zabuza.

"I was just- We were just- U-um nothing Zabuza" Naruto stuttered.

Haku glared at Zabuza when she noticed the evil look that he was giving Naruto.

"Zabuza we've been over this. Naruto is my boyfriend, so he's allowed to touch me without you trying to kill him" Haku said. Zabuza rolled his eyes at her.

"I wasn't even thinking about killing the kid, I was only planning on breaking his hands" Zabuza said innocently as if there was nothing wrong with his statement.

Naruto hid behind Haku as Zabuza got closer to them, and Zabuza noticed.

"Don't be a wimp Naruto, I need to test your strength to see if you're worthy of Haku" Zabuza said.

"Don't I get to decide that?" Haku asked while sighing

"You're 15 years old. You're not old enough to decide things like boyfriends" Zabuza replied stubbornly causing Haku to smirk

"But weren't you the one that told me that I was an adult and that I had to make my own decisions in order to survive in the Shinobi World?" Haku asked.

Zabuza was speechless because he did tell her that, and now his own words were being thrown right back in his face. Haku used this opportunity to grab Naruto's hand and walk away.

"See you later Zabuza. I'll be home before 10" Haku said while dragging Naruto towards the Uchiha District.

' _ **Damn you Haku. You're too smart for your own good sometimes'**_ Zabuza said glaring at their retreating figures. Then he noticed the unconscious man on the ground not to far away.

"I better get out of here before someone sees me here and blames me for that" Zabuza said to himself as he walked away from Ebisu's unconscious body.

XxXxXx

Later that night, Gaara was sitting on top of a roof meditating. He was thinking about his upcoming match with Sasuke Uchiha. The full moon was out and Shukaku was talking to Gaara.

"Yes you yearn for the Uchiha's blood don't you Shukaku. We only have one month before you can have it all" Gaara said.

" **That's not good enough Brat. I need blood now"** Shukaku replied.

Gaara started to talk back to Shukaku when he noticed a chakra presence approaching him. He opened his eyes to see the sound nin Dosu approaching him.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked. He didn't have the patience to deal with a sound nin right now.

He knew that they were technically allies since they were planning an invasion on the leaf, but that didn't mean that Gaara wouldn't kill any sound ninja that bothered him.

"Simple. I'm here to kill you, so that I can be the one to face Sasuke" Dosu said with his chakra swirling.

Gaara smirked darkly at Dosu, while speaking to Shukaku.

"Good news. Someone just showed up wanting to fight, looks like you'll get some blood tonight after all" Gaara said.

" **Then let's not waste time"** Shukaku said.

Dosu's eyes widened as Gaara's sand advanced towards him, all that could be heard was Dosu's muffled screams as the Sand engulfed him.

 **TBC**

 **Pro-Uchiha: Ino vs. Sakura wasn't that bad was it? I honestly can't even remember most of it XD. And him leaving the village will definitely be a dramatic moment**

 **Con24aleja: Thank you for the Review! :) and I agree Sasuke leaving will be a crazy moment for all of his friends and I promise Gaara and Naruto will fight**

 **JustQuokka: No you haven't, but thank you for telling me! :). And the 3rd Hokage had spoken to Shisui about his Mangekyo, and he was also the student of Tobirama. I assumed that Tobirama has spoken to Hiruzen about it at least once**

 **HinaHime (Guest): Thank you for your review! And I agree it's unfortunate that Hinata had to face such strong opponents. Neji in Canon and Gaara in this fic. Hinata's going to get a win relatively soon though. I believe she needs one**

 **Perfumefemur (Guest): I really appreciate your long review! Thank you so much! :) I definitely agree with you about Hinata's differences from Sakura. Hinata's role will be very important in the future. Also thank you for all of the tips and ideas I like them, and I might be able to use a few if it fits and the Hyuuga's have seals but Sasuke and Naruto have never seen Neji or any other branch Hyuuga without something on their forehead. This will be explained soon**

 **Dalisay08: Thank You!**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: Thank you and I hoped this Chapter pleased you**

 **Splaaash- attack: Thank you!**

 **Lusalec: Thank you!**

 **Beta117: Thank you for your review. I'm trying to pace myself, but I wanna at least give 2 chapters a week, and you're right I didn't even think about that. Hitting Sasuke with the Chidori would've probably put Kakashi in shock**

 **Bernadette Dei: I'm glad you liked it! And of course! I have to have SasuHina hospital scenes**

 **Lolithia (Guest): It will be different from Canon in many ways. Naruto and Neji may understand Sasuke's reasoning, but they won't like that he's leaving**

 **Thank you for everyone who reads and reviews this fic. I love and appreciate all of your feedback and support. Please continue to Read and Review, the next chapter is coming soon- Dishon 3**


	12. End of the Chunin Exams

**Hey Guys I just wanted to clear some things up for this chapter**

" **Tailed Beasts Talking"**

" **ATTACK NAMES"**

" _ **Jinchuriki talking back to Tailed Beasts"**_

' _ **Character thoughts'**_

"SHOUTING"

 _ **Now that that's clear. Enjoy the chapter**_

 **Chapter 12**

The day of the Final exam was here and everybody was excited for the matches that were going to take place, but two stood out over the others.

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuuga was the first promising match. The two had been close friends for the past 6 years, and everyone in the village was well aware of their rivalry, so everyone wanted to know who was the strongest between the two. Neji was considered to be the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan even though he was a Branch family member, and it was rumored that Naruto was being trained by one of the leafs legendary Sannin, so no one knew who would win.

However, the match that everyone wanted to see from the final round was Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara of the Desert. By this time everybody knew that Gaara had been the person who had put Hinata in the hospital after the preliminary exams. Sasuke had been looking for retribution since then, so this was a genuine grudge match. This was also a fight between the strongest Genins from the Sand and Leaf villages.

People were expecting a great match, so everyone bought tickets and filled up the stadium to watch it.

The first match was Shikamaru vs. Temari. It was an interesting match that displayed the strategic intelligence of Shikamaru. He came up with an elaborate plan that ended with Temari being stuck in his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu, but as soon as it seemed like he had the match won he gave up.

Everyone was shocked that the Nara genius gave up, but the match was good, so no one really complained besides Ino, who was yelling at Shikamaru from the crowd.

The next match was Kankuro vs. Shino, but it didn't happen because Kankuro forfeited.

The next match was Neji vs. Naruto. The two friends walked side by side into the battle arena with nearly identical smirks on their faces.

When they got to the middle of the stadium they separated and turned to face each other.

"You ready to lose Neji?" Naruto asked.

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same question Naruto" Neji replied getting into the gentle fist stance.

In the seating area everybody was cheering on their respective friends.

"You can do it Neji! Show Naruto the power of youth" Lee said.

"Wipe the floor with him Neji" Tenten said.

"Go Neji-nii, and Naruto-kun" Hanabi shouted.

"Both of you do you're best" Hinata said not wanting to pick a side between her best friend and her cousin.

"You can do it Naruto. Also try your best Neji" Haku said trying to balance sounding supportive for her boyfriend and her friend.

Sakura was similarly conflicted and didn't know who to cheer for between her boyfriend and her teammate, so she just stayed quiet.

"Too bad Kakashi isn't here to witness my student beat his student. It'll be a youthful display of dominance" Gai said with a blinding smile.

Genma shook his head at his old teammate's antics. He looked at both Neji and Naruto.

"Are you two ready?" Genma asked playing with the senbon in his mouth.

"You bet! Start the match so that I can beat him up" Naruto said. Neji didn't say anything and simply activated his Byakugan.

"Alright then... Begin" Genma said jumping out of the arena.

XxXxXx

Wasting no time, Naruto summoned 400 shadow clones and sent them all racing towards Neji.

Neji began his attack, dissipating clone after clone effortlessly in route to Naruto's real body, but as Naruto after Naruto attacked Neji, he soon saw that he was beginning to get overwhelmed by the numbers, so he started spinning.

" **ROTATION"** Neji said.

The sphere of chakra destroyed a large group of the Shadow Clones who were close to his location. When he stopped spinning he saw that their was only one Naruto left. Neji smirked and deactivated his Byakugan.

"Was that all?" Neji asked crossing his arms.

Naruto just smirked and pointed down before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Neji was confused and looked down just in time for an uppercut to smash into his face courtesy of Naruto.

The impact knocked Neji into the air and knocked off his headband. Neji landed a few feet away with a thud, but he wasn't defeated.

Neji shakily got back on his feet and spit out some blood as he got back into his stance and activated his Byakugan just in time to see Naruto advancing on him from behind.

Turning quickly he began his counterattack.

" **8 Trigrams 64 palms"** Neji said.

Naruto had no way to dodge as Neji struck 64 of his chakra points rapidly knocking Naruto away.

Now it was Naruto's turn to slowly get to his feet. He got to his feet and gave Neji a smile that the Hyuuga Prodigy returned.

"That was an innovative way to catch me off guard. If you hit me a little harder then this match might've been over" Neji said.

"Yeah and you sure got me good with your gentle fist technique, I should've known better than charging you with my real body" Naruto said laughing to himself before he noticed something on Neji's forehead.

"Wait Neji. What's that on your forehead" Naruto asked. Neji touched his forehead in confusion, but when he noticed that his headband was knocked off he got a look of understanding. Sighing to himself he spoke.

"This is my curse seal Naruto. It is placed on every member of the branch family in the Hyuuga clan to control us if we ever get out of line" Neji said.

Naruto made a face before shouting loud enough for the whole arena to hear.

"WHO PUT THAT ON YOU!? I'LL KICK THEIR ASS."

Neji stayed quiet for a moment trying think of a way to explain the situation to his friend, but he didn't find something to say fast enough. Naruto had spotted his uncle in the crowd.

"Hey Hiashi-pops why is Neji marked with a cursed seal. He's your nephew, so how could you do something like that to him... come to think of it Hizashi-pops is a branch family member too, so that means that he has a cursed seal too right? How could you do that to your own brother?" Naruto asked incredulously.

' _ **Damn Naruto. Of all the times for him to start using his head he picks now'**_ Neji thought to himself nervously as he looked at his uncle and father who were sitting next to each other.

The Hyuuga Patriach stood up regally.

"The matters of my clan will not be discussed here, nor do I have the need to explain myself or clan practices with a teenager. Now continue your match at once" Hiashi said.

Naruto was shaking with barely controlled fury at Hiashi's words.

"You can't order me around like that! I don't care who you are and It doesn't matter to me whether or not you want to explain anything to me because when I become Hokage the first thing I'm going to do is get rid of the Hyuuga curse seal. All of you will be equal under me. Believe It!" Naruto said pointing at Hiashi causing an uproar within the Hyuuga section of the crowd.

Hinata and Hanabi smiled to themselves at Naruto's declaration, and even Neji gave his friend a genuine look. Hiashi opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else, but he was cut of by Hiruzen before he could speak.

"Enough of this Naruto-kun. Focus on your match with Neji-kun right now instead of outside things" Hiruzen said/ordered ending the conversation.

Naruto frowned and turned away from Hiashi and back towards Neji.

"I promise you that I'll get rid of the curse seal and change your clan when I become Hokage, but first I have to defeat you, so lets finish this now" Naruto said.

"I really do appreciate the sentiment Naruto, but how do you plan to defeat me with all your chakra points blocked?" Neji asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Oh that? That's not a problem, see pervy sage had me meditate to control the chakra inside of me better, and one day while meditating I made a friend that was willing to lend me all the Chakra I'd ask for" Naruto said as a reddish chakra began to swirl around him.

" _ **Thanks Kurama"**_ Naruto said in his mind knowing that the fox could hear him.

" **No problem Kid"** Kurama responded.

"Now prepare yourself Neji. **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU** " Naruto shouted.

Neji looked around in shock. He was surrounded by a sea of Naruto clones. There were more Naruto clones then there were people in the crowd. Neji sweated dropped and deactivated his Byakugan.

"I give up" Neji said causing Naruto to smirk and dissipate his clones.

"Good choice. I didn't want to have to kick your ass" Naruto said throwing his arm around Neji who rolled his eyes. The two friends walked side by side out of the battle arena.

"Neji Hyuuga has given up so the winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki. The next match is Gaara of the Desert vs. Sasuke Uchiha" Genma announced causing the crowd to cheer loudly.

XxXxXx

10 minutes flew by since the announcement of the match and Sasuke was still no where to be seen. He only had 5 more minutes to get to the battle arena and his friends were starting to get worried.

"Damn Kaka-sensei. I knew he'd make Sasuke late like he always is" Naruto said pacing back and forth.

"Have some faith Naruto. I'm sure that Sasuke wouldn't let Kakashi-sensei make him late for his match against Gaara" Sakura said trying to reason with her teammate.

"The Uchiha wouldn't miss his chance to avenge Hinata-sama" Neji said.

"Yeah Sasuke-nii will be here and he'll beat Gaara's butt" Hanabi said.

"Sasuke wouldn't miss this. Besides pacing doesn't make him come faster" Haku said trying to get Naruto to sit down.

Hinata wasn't really listening to what her friends were saying. She was just wondering where Sasuke was. She hadn't seen him since she left the hospital and that was about 2 weeks ago.

"Oh Sasuke-kun where are you" Hinata said. Moments later a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm right here."

Everyone turned to see Sasuke and Kakashi. Sasuke had bandages all around his arms and legs, his hair had grown longer and he had a strong aura around him, Kakashi... looked the same.

"Sasuke you made it! Why did he take so long Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked scolding her sensei.

"Oh well you see..." Kakashi started to say before Sasuke cut him off.

"He wanted to make a dramatic entrance, but I didn't want to" Sasuke said.

Everyone glared at Kakashi who just walked away. Probably to find Hanare.

"Well good luck Bastard. You better win, because I wanna face you in the next round" Naruto said. Sasuke smirked at his best friend and nodded.

He let go of Hinata and was about to head towards the arena but Hinata grabbed his hand making him stop.

"Go out there and win" Hinata said with a smile. Sasuke smirked back at her.

"I will. I promised you I would didn't I?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded and let Sasuke's hand go.

Sasuke gave Hinata one last look before he hopped over the railing and into the battle arena.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Gaara stared at each other as Genma announced the beginning of the match.

Both were sizing the other one up, and neither wanted to make the first move, but after a moment Gaara smirked at Sasuke.

"I've been waiting for this moment Uchiha. I'll enjoy breaking you more than the Hyuuga girl" Gaara said with venom.

"And with that comment you've just received strike 2 with me Gaara. I've been trying to think of a reason not to kill you after you decided to break Hinata's arm, and you're not helping your case... Tell me do you enjoy you're life Gaara?" Sasuke asked calmly.

The calmness in Sasuke's voice unnerved Gaara. Sasuke didn't sound angry like he had anticipated, instead he sounded almost bored.

"W-What?" Gaara asked stuttering. Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Do you enjoy your life? Because based on your actions it seems to me like you want me to kill you" Sasuke said.

Gaara felt a sweat drop fall from his forehead as he slowly backed away from Sasuke, but he stopped when he heard Shukaku in his head.

" **Stop backing away brat. If you're scared then form a sand shield and begin the process to let me out. I'll handle him"** Shukaku said.

Gaara stopped moving backwards and did as he was instructed and formed a sand shield. Sasuke knew what Gaara was doing because he did it during their first Chunin Exams battle, so Sasuke knew exactly what to do.

Sasuke jumped to the wall of the stadium and created a Chidori then he sprinted full speed at Gaara's sand shield. Sasuke was moving so fast that only the Hokage, Orochimaru and a select few Jonin could see him moving.

Then he avoided the spikes on Gaara's shield and thrust his Chidori right into Gaara's shield and striking Gaara in his shoulder.

Gaara felt an immense amount of pain, but he was also feeling something new.

' _ **What is this. It's warm and sticky and red...'**_ Gaara thought to himself as his eyes widened in realization.

"IT'S BLOOD! IT"S MY BLOOD!" Gaara shouted surprising all of the sand ninja. This was the first known time that Gaara had ever been bleeding.

Gaara had a fearful look in his eyes as he looked at Sasuke from the hole in his sand shield. Sasuke noticed Gaara looking into his eyes and smirked, he had fallen into his trap.

Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan and soon he was pulled inside Gaara's mind.

XxXxXx

 **Inside Gaara's Mind**

Gaara looked at Sasuke in surprise as he stood in front of him and Shukaku.

"How did you get in here?" Gaara asked trying to form sand in his mind to defend himself. Sasuke put his hands up in a peace gesture.

"Relax Gaara, I'm not going to cause any internal damage unless you make me. This is just a place where we can talk to each other with no time restrictions. I doubt the crowd will be interested in our conversation" Sasuke said . Gaara was still skeptical.

"Talk? Why do you want to talk to me? No human besides Yashamaru ever wanted to hear what I wanted to say, and he was only pretending to be interested in what I had to say. Shukaku is the only one who talks to me" Gaara said in confusion.

"Shukaku is the one tail right? Even with you're siblings around, you must have grown up feared by your village, without any friends. I doubt that parents let their kids hang around someone who had a tailed beast inside of them" Sasuke thought aloud.

"What does that have to do with anything? Aren't we supposed to be fighting right now? Why did you come here? What did you think talking would solve?" Gaara asked incredulously.

Sasuke looked at Gaara with a serious look on his face causing Gaara to flinch and prepare himself in case of an attack, but what Sasuke said next shocked Gaara into letting down his defenses.

"I don't fear you or your tailed beast Gaara, and if you apologize to Hinata for breaking her arm then I would like to be friends" Sasuke said holding out his hand.

"F-Friends with someone like me? Really?" Gaara asked in shock. Sasuke smirked.

"Of course, my closest friend has the nine tails inside of him. Besides you'd be my first friend outside of Konoha, so I could go to Suna to visit you and you can show me all the fun things to do there. Fair warning though, there's a high chance that Naruto or Hinata would be coming with me. Hinata will be fine, but there's a good chance Naruto says or does something stupid. In that case you have my permission to sand coffin him, but don't kill him" Sasuke said casually.

Gaara looked at Sasuke in shock with tears starting to form in his eyes, and a smile was threatening to form on his face, but before Gaara could respond; Shukaku interrupted.

" **Aww isn't that sweet, but remember you promised me his blood, and if you go back on your word I'll have to take over"** Shukaku said.

Gaara and Sasuke looked around and noticed Shukaku's cage was opened. Gaara looked concerned while Sasuke just smirked and dropped his hand.

"Was that supposed to be threatening one tail? I've sensed your chakra and from what I seen I'm not impressed" Sasuke said.

" **You insolent brat! You dare insult one of the tailed beasts. I'll end you here and now"** Shukaku said swiping his arm down at Sasuke, but his arm stopped midway.

Shukaku and Gaara both looked at Sasuke in surprise. Sasuke smirked with his Sharingan blazing.

"How did you do that" Gaara asked looking Shukaku, who couldn't move his arm.

"I had a disagreement with the nine tails inside of Naruto once. Compared to containing him, your tailed beast is child's play" Sasuke replied ignoring Shukaku's roar of rage.

"Do you need help containing him?" Sasuke asked Gaara.

"Nah I got it. I've been letting him roam free because I thought he was my only friend, but my father put a seal on him so I can contain him" Gaara said raising his hand suddenly 2 seals came down and crashed on Shukaku's tail and head.

" **Kid what are you doing? You going to side with him over me?"** Shukaku asked feeling enraged and slightly betrayed. Gaara shrugged at the tailed beast.

"You've only been using me to kill people, and I've had fun doing that, but I'd like to have friends. You wouldn't let that happen... You barely let me sleep, so this is necessary until we come to a better understanding" Gaara said.

Shukaku growled, but then smirked as he got an idea.

" **You say you want to be friends with this boy from the leaf, but aren't you involved in the plan to destroy the leaf?"** Shukaku said making Gaara's eyes widen.

Gaara looked guilty as he turned to Sasuke who had been listening with an understanding look on his face.

"I already knew of the Sound and Sand village alliance to take down the leaf. I don't care because I know its not going to work. I still want to be friends Gaara" Sasuke said glaring at Shukaku who decided to stay quiet.

Gaara was relieved that Sasuke didn't take back his friendship offer, but he was surprised that Sasuke already knew about the attack, and thought that it wouldn't work.

"How do you know the attack won't work?" Gaara asked.

"Because you won't be involved" Sasuke said smirking at Gaara, Gaara was going to respond, but Sasuke spoke before he could.

"We're out of time here. I'm wasting to much Chakra, when we get back to the outside world run out of the stadium and into the forest. I'll chase you and can talk about what to do then, but make it look convincing. Use your sand to smack me away or something" Sasuke said. Gaara only had time to nod in understanding before Sasuke faded out of his mind. Gaara turned to Shukaku.

"Are you going to help me, or lay there and pout?" Gaara asked.

" **If your asking for my chakra the answer is no"** Shukaku said stubbornly as he shook violently trying to escape the seals.

"Ugh fine. I'll do it myself" Gaara said sighing as he focused back on the outside world.

XxXxXx

 **Back in the Normal World**

Sasuke looked around and noticed that most of the crowd was stuck in a Genjutsu signifying that the attack had begun. He looked into the sand shield and nodded at Gaara who nodded back and sent Sasuke flying with a wave of Sand before running out of the arena towards the forest.

Seeing that Gaara had left, Kankuro and Temari had followed him to make sure their brother was okay.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head to relieve the pain. Gaara had hit him harder than he was expecting but he wasn't complaining.

Sasuke saw a few sand nin heading towards him, but with a flash of his Sharingan they were unconscious. He looked up to see that the sound four had already trapped Orochimaru and the 3rd Hokage in a barrier.

' _ **Oh well looks like he was meant to die'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he looked around to see Leaf ninja fighting the sand and sound ninja, but it looked like the leaf was holding his own so Sasuke saw no need to stay and help.

He was about to leave when Kakashi shouted to him.

"Go find Gaara, we'll take care of things here. I'll send your teammates and friends when they wake up" Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded in thanks and took off after Gaara.

XxXxXx

Soon after Hinata woke up. She was surprised to see so much fighting going on around her, and she looked around to see that some of her friends were still sleep.

She reached her hand towards Haku, but before she could touch her a hand grabbed her shoulder roughly and spinned her around, but Hinata was ready.

She activated her Byakugan quickly and slammed a gentle fist into the sound ninja's stomach sending him flying away from her. Another ninja tried to attack her, but senbon were sent flying into the attackers neck, killing him instantly.

Hinata turned to see that Haku was now awake, and she was ready to fight. Hinata also noticed that Neji, Sakura, and Hanabi were also awake and they were fighting off Sand and Sound shinobi.

Haku stuck a senbon in Naruto's leg which woke him up out of his Genjutsu trance.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he evaded an attack from a random ninja.

"The sand and sound are attacking us. You mind stacking the odds?" Kakashi asked his student while pinning a sound nin.

"Oh yeah sure. **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU** " Naruto as 3000 Naruto clones came out and started attacking the sand and sound Genin throughout the village.

Kakashi sighed in relief and smiled at his students and their friends.

"Now then you guys should go after Sasuke. He chased after Gaara and his siblings, so I'd feel comfortable if you go back him up" Kakashi said.

Hinata's eyes widened at what she heard. Sasuke had went after Gaara and his siblings alone, he may need their help.

"Let's go help Sasuke-nii" Hanabi shouted making everyone look at her.

"You're not going Hanabi-sama" Neji said making the girl whine.

Hanabi opened her mouth to whine, but Haku knocked her out causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"What? We know that she wasn't going to listen and we're wasting time here" Haku said defending her decision to knock Hanabi out.

Everyone just nodded, knowing that Haku was right. They couldn't afford to have to Hanabi following them and risk her getting hurt.

"Lets go now. He's not too far because I can still see him with my Byakugan" Neji announced. Everyone nodded in took off towards Sasuke with Neji and Hinata in the lead.

XxXxXx

When Sasuke caught up to the Sand Siblings he was assaulted by a large gust of wind that sent him flying into a nearby tree.

"Temari! I told you that we aren't going to attack Sasuke when he showed up" Gaara said sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, he scared me" Temari apologized.

Sasuke got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head again.

' _ **Damn right in the same spot I hit earlier. Now there's probably going to be a bruise there'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he stood back up and glared at Temari.

"Sorry about that Sasuke. They shouldn't be attacking you anymore" Gaara said.

"I'd hope not. That wouldn't be a good way to treat your friends" Sasuke said casually.

Temari and Kankuro eyes both widened at the mention of the word 'friend'. They didn't think that Gaara was capable of ever making friends, but the face that it was Sasuke the managed to befriend their brother after Gaara broke his girlfriend's arm was insane to them. Gaara noticed his siblings reaction and simply said.

"We had a conversation and now we're friends. We aren't participating in the attack on the leaf village any longer and when this all ends we'll convince our father to ally ourselves with the leaf" Gaara said.

Sasuke made a face and then realized that Gaara and his siblings didn't know what happened to their father. He wanted to tell them, but Sasuke had no intentions of having them suspicious of him when his friendship with Gaara was so new.

"Speaking of allies" Sasuke said as he turned his head to the side.

Gaara and his siblings watched as Hinata, Neji, Naruto, Haku, and Sakura arrived and stood next to Sasuke.

Hinata went to Sasuke's side with her Byakugan active as she spoke.

"We're here now Sasuke-kun so you don't have to fight alone" Hinata said. Sasuke just smirked at her and everyone else.

"We're not fighting them. They're friends" Sasuke said shocking everyone there except Gaara who was beginning to walk towards Sasuke and Hinata.

As he was advancing towards them, Neji and Naruto got in the way causing Gaara to stop.

"I don't want you anywhere near Hinata-sama after what you did to her" Neji said with his Byakugan staring a hole through Gaara.

"If you plan on doing something then you'll have to go through me first" Naruto said with red slitted eyes. Gaara just stared at the two teenagers until Sasuke got involved.

"Loser, Hyuuga, move out of the way. I trust that Gaara won't do anything to hurt Hinata because if he did his life would end in that moment" Sasuke said moving his friends out of the way.

When the path opened up, Gaara kept walking towards Hinata until he was a foot from her. Then he spoke.

"I'm sorry for what I did, and attempted to do to you Hyuuga-san. I hope that you could forgive me, and that one day we could even be friends. I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but I had to apologize" Gaara said bowing slightly.

Gaara's apology shocked everybody present except for Sasuke. Temari, Kankuro, Neji and Naruto all fell flat on their ass in surprise. Sakura and Haku were just as shocked as they were, but they maintained their balance.

Hinata was looking at Gaara with wide eyes. She didn't think she'd ever get an apology from him, and he was hoping to be friends. There was no way that this was the same Gaara that broke her arm a month ago.

' _ **What did Sasuke do to him?'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she briefly took at Sasuke's smirk before turning her attention back to Gaara.

"I forgive you Gaara-san, of course we can be friends, and call me Hinata" Hinata said smiling brightly at the red haired teen.

Gaara lifted his head up with a surprised look, then he let a small smile show on his face.

"Thank you Hinata, I now have 2 friends. That's 2 more than I thought I'd ever have" Gaara said.

"Make that 3" Naruto said wrapping an arm around Gaara's shoulder. It took all of Gaara's will power to prevent from smacking Naruto away with Sand, but only because he wasn't expecting to get touched.

"You want to be my friend too? Weren't you just threatening me" Gaara asked confused.

"Oh that? Well I thought that you were gonna try to hurt Hina-chan but after I saw you apologize I knew everything was okay. Besides the Bastard seems to like you, so I figured that we could be friends too, and I'm much better to be around then Sasuke" Naruto said smiling brightly at Gaara.

"Well if Naruto and Sasuke both want to be friends then you have no choice, but to be friends with me. Now you have all of Team 7 as your allies Gaara" Sakura said.

"You apologized to Hinata, so I wouldn't be opposed to being your friend" Haku said putting the senbon she had in her hand back into her pouch.

Everyone then looked at Neji, expecting him to say something. The Hyuuga Prodigy just crossed his arms and looked away from the group.

"You apologized to Hinata-sama, so I hold no grudge towards you, but that does not make us friends" Neji said stubbornly. Naruto and Sakura rolled their eyes.

"Don't mind him Gaara, he's still upset that he lost his match to me" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"Neji is your friend too Gaara, he's just trying to keep his tough guy act, but he'll help you if you need it" Sakura said pinching Neji's cheek.

Gaara looked around at the leaf villagers who had all agreed to befriend him, and then he looked at his siblings who were still in shock about the whole thing.

"Kankuro, Temari, I want to apologize to you two for threatening your lives over the years. After Father made you guys stop playing with me I thought you hated me, so I hated you back. I hope that we can have a better relationship as siblings from now on" Gaara said.

Kankuro and Temari looked at each other in surprise before turning back to their little brother and smiled. They didn't say anything, but the look in their eyes was enough for Gaara.

For the first time in his life Gaara let out a wide genuine smile. Sasuke saw this and smirked to himself.

"Let's head back to the village now guys and put a stop to this invasion" Sasuke said.

"That's a good idea Bastard. I just felt my last Shadow Clone get beat, we should hurry" Naruto said. Everyone nodded and took off back towards the village.

XxXxXx

By the time they returned to the village, the sand and sound shinobi were retreating and large snake summons were disappearing in puffs of smoke.

While the Sound shinobi were retreating a few tried to attack the group, but their efforts were fruitless. As soon as they pulled out their kunai to attack, Gaara would have them trapped in Sand Coffins.

Once they trapped they were bombarded by Senbon, Chidori's and Gentle Fists that effectively put them out of commission.

As they got closer they saw Kakashi and all the other Jonin gathered around the 3rd Hokage's still body. Everybody's eyes widened including Sasuke, since he had to act like he didn't know it was going to happen.

Tears flowed down the face of most of people present. Even Kakashi had a grim face. When Kakashi noticed that Gaara and his siblings were with them he addressed them.

"The 4th Kazekage has been killed too. We won't treat your villages actions as a sign of war because of the circumstances, sorry for your loss" Kakashi said.

Gaara, Kankuro and Temari all looked shocked, neither looked too devastated by the news that their father had been killed.

' _ **Hmm they must of had a bad childhood'**_ Kakashi mused to himself.

He looked at his students and their friends to gauge their reactions.

Sasuke had wrapped his arms around Hinata and allowed her to sob in his chest. He had an impassive face, but the sadness in his eyes was evident.

Naruto was crying while holding Haku, but from what Kakashi could tell, Haku was the one supporting Naruto.

Sakura's face was on Neji's shoulder and she had silent tears falling down her face. Neji just had a solemn look.

Kakashi was about to go comfort his students and their friends when a voice made him freeze.

"Everyone with Hiruzen's death we need to start thinking about who's going to be the 5th Hokage."

Kakashi didn't even turn around because he knew who that voice belonged to. He looked at Sasuke, who's eyes instantly bled red. Kakashi didn't have enough chakra left to stop Sasuke if he tried something.

' _ **Kami help us if Sasuke attacks'**_ Kakashi thought to himself as he continued staring at his student.

XxXxXx

Hinata felt Sasuke tense while she was sobbing in her chest. She also felt his grip on her tighten as he tried to subtly move her behind him.

She was confused as to why he was doing that until she looked up and saw Danzo and the village elders standing next to the 3rd Hokage's dead body.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at Sasuke to see that his Sharingan was already activated and was glaring daggers at Danzo who didn't notice.

"Hinata stay here. I'll be right back" Sasuke whispered to Hinata as he started a inch towards Danzo with one hand performing the hand signs necessary for his Chidori.

Hinata moved quickly to Gaara, who looked at her with surprise.

"I need you to grab Sasuke with your sand right now and follow me. Please don't argue or ask questions because we don't have time for that; have to get Sasuke away from here right now" Hinata whispered loud enough so that Gaara could hear.

Luckily for her the rest of her friends heard her too and were all prepared to leave at the moment Gaara grabbed Sasuke. Gaara didn't waste anytime as he extended his hand towards Sasuke.

Sasuke looked down in surprise as a large Sand hand grabbed him and lifted him off his feet. Suddenly he was being carried away from Danzo. He looked to see Hinata heading towards the Uchiha District with his friends following. Even Kakashi was traveling with them.

When they arrived at Sasuke's house; Gaara let Sasuke go. Sasuke was staring at his friends with his Sharingan still active.

"Why did you do that? Danzo was right there I could've ended everything right there. I thought you guys said you were willing to help me, but all you did was stand in my way" Sasuke snapped making everyone in the room flinch, even the sand siblings, who had no clue what was going on.

"It wasn't the right time with all those Anbu and Jonin around Sasuke. Even though we're all strong ninja, I doubt we could take all of them on" Kakashi said trying to reason with Sasuke.

"That's no excuse Kakashi. I could've put them all in a Genjutsu and the Loser can shit out thousands of clones without breaking a sweat. Neji and Hinata's Rotation would be able to stop any projectile attacks and they can block Chakra points, Haku is a dangerous assassin, Sakura's smart enough to take out a few shinobi, and Gaara and his siblings probably would've helped. The odds were in our favor" Sasuke said.

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Hinata spoke up.

"You will stay here and cool down. Kakashi-sensei is right. Now is not the time to attack them" Hinata said.

Sasuke looked at Hinata, who stared right back at Sasuke, not willing to back down. Sasuke looked around the room into the face of friends one by one. Minutes went by like seconds until Sasuke finally deactivated his Sharingan.

"Fine Hime, you win" Sasuke said as he sat down.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun. When the time comes I'll be right by your side, we all will" Hinata said. Everyone nodded in agreement including the sand siblings.

"I'll wait for the time, but lets make one thing clear now. When that time comes Danzo will die; no one, not even you will be able to stop that Hinata-hime" Sasuke promised as he walked away from his friends and everyone including Hinata could hear the truth in his words.

"Well that went well" Kakashi said with a smile making everyone glare at him.

' _ **It could've been much worse. I'm glad Hinata and the others are here. If Itachi is innocent like Sasuke believes then I would hate to be Danzo right now'**_ Kakashi thought as he sweat dropped. Hinata had different thoughts as she looked in the direction Sasuke went.

' _ **I may not be able to stop you from killing Danzo, but I won't let you lose yourself in Vengeance. That's a promise.'**_

 **TBC**

 **Ronlol2- Sasuke was using his head for once, but he would've did worse to Gaara if he didn't already know about Shukaku**

 **Pro-Uchiha- I rewatched it and you were right. And thank you I hope you liked what I did with Sasuke Vs. Gaara**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Thank you for your review!**

 **Kiss2lips- Thank you and I agree. Shippuden is going to be fun to right, but there's still about 2-3 more chapters to go before Sasuke leaves Konoha**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you and yeah that was dumb to me in canon. Gaara is aware that he has a Tailed beast inside of him**

 **Dragonc825- You're close**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you and I hope that I explained Gaara's character well enough**

 **Anty Sasuke (Guest)- you're funny for that. You're opinion is noted but it means absolutely noting to me. You're free to keep reviewing your nonsense though if you want to keep looking stupid XD**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Sasuke and Kakashi's relationship is kind of like a father-son relationship. That's what I thought it would be in canon, but events prevented that and Dosu is just as naive as he was in canon lol. And the trolls don't bother me honestly. It's hilarious to me that people have nothing better to do with there time than to hate on ships that they don't support**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- Same I wished they were closer than they are in Canon**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews. Please continue to review, I'm always open to suggestions and feel free to ask questions. Till next time**

 **-Dishon 3**


	13. Goodbye Friend and Hello Brother

**Chapter 13**

A week later, The Konoha 12 and Haku were at the gate to say goodbye to Gaara and the rest of the Sand siblings. They had spent the last couple of days hanging out and getting to know each other more.

Sasuke had to admit that Gaara wasn't that bad to be around. He wasn't close to the empathetic Kage that tried to reason with him once upon a time, but he could tell that he was happy to have friends, and trying to be friends. In time Gaara will be a strong and invaluable ally.

Currently, Lee was challenging Gaara to a spar shouting something about the power of youth. Neji and Tenten were just rolling their eyes.

"It was nice hanging around you guys for a few days. We're really sorry that we tried to destroy your village and all" Kankuro said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Temari and Gaara both rolled their eyes at Kankuro's comment. Sometimes their brother didn't know what to say out of his mouth. He definitely needed to work on his people skills... not that Gaara was any better, but still.

"All is forgiven, besides the Hokage and Kazekage were both victims in this assault. I'd say we all suffered the same" Shino said logically.

Kankuro nodded at his would be Chunin exam opponent, before remembering the fact that they never did fight each other.

"Next time I visit, we have to spar. I'm curious to know who would've won between us if we fought, since we never got the chance to" Kankuro said to the Aburame grabbing the puppet he always carried around for emphasis.

"Of course, whenever and wherever you want" Shino replied shifting his glasses on his face as his bugs flew around him excitedly.

"You guys should let me in on this. Me and Akamaru would wipe the floor with both you" Kiba said trying to join in.

"No Kiba, there's levels to this kind of fighting. Maybe start a little lower... like Choji" Shino suggested. Kiba's face turned red at the suggestion.

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY SHINO!? I'M A WAY BETTER FIGHTER THAN THAT FATTY" Kiba shouted incredulously.

Choji twitched and dropped the bag of chips he was holding. He slowly turned to Kiba with a vein protruding out of his forehead and his chakra swirling.

"What did you just call me?" Choji asked in a low voice.

Everyone took a few steps away from Choji, even Sasuke. Gaara made a Sand Barrier to cover himself in case of the worse. Everyone wisely joined him behind the Sand except for Kiba who, unsurprisingly, didn't back down.

"You heard me tubby! I'm way above your level and I only want to fight worthy opponents. Like Sasuke, or Neji, or even Naruto! I don't have time to waste on you" Kiba said oblivious to Choji's rage.

Kiba was soon made aware when he looked around and realized that everyone had abandoned him and was now behind Gaara's sand barrier. Even Akamaru was whimpering behind the sand.

Kiba slowly turned to look at Choji's slowly advancing form. Kiba's cocky demeanor evaporated instantly as he took shaky steps away from Choji.

"I'm not fat... IM BIG BONED" Choji shouted as he sprinted towards Kiba with flames in his eyes.

"AHH! AKAMARU, SHINO, HINATA, ANYONE HELP ME" Kiba screamed as he ran from Choji.

Everyone looked at Choji chase Kiba for a moment before Hinata spoke up.

"Do you think that we should help Kiba?" She asked out loud to no one in particular.

Shikamaru yawned and Ino rolled her eyes.

"Nah. Kiba needs to learn when to keep that mouth of his shut, besides no one calls Choji fat twice and gets away with it..." Shikamaru said but then Choji caught up to Kiba and began to beat the tar out of the Inuzuka.

"...Actually I'm going to call him down" Shikamaru said leaving the safety of the sand barrier.

" **SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU"** Shikamaru said as his shadow grabbed Choji, stopping him from continuing his assault on Kiba.

Now that Choji was restrained, Gaara let down the sand barrier and the rest of Team 8 ran to check up on Kiba. He was unconscious and it seemed like he needed some medical attention. Luckily for him Hinata knew Medical Ninjutsu and she healed Kiba enough for him to regain consciousness.

"Come on Kiba lets get you to the Hospital. Maybe we can get them to sow your mouth shut too" Shino said carrying Kiba walking towards the hospital with Akamaru following him.

Shikamaru, who still had Choji in his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu, turned to the Sand Siblings.

"I think we should probably get going too, gotta cool Choji off. Gaara it was nice having another reasonable person around, Kankuro you're alright and Temari you're... troublesome. Anyway, have a safe trip back" Shikamaru said waving lazily walking away, making Choji walk with him.

"I better go too then, those two can't function without me there to guide them. Get home safely and Gaara-kun don't forget to write" Ino said winking at Gaara and walking away, making the red head blush lightly. A fact that his siblings smirked at.

"See you later Ino-san. I'll write you as often as I can" Gaara said quietly at Ino's retreating form.

"Gaara I don't think Ino could hear you. Maybe it would be better if you speak up instead of squeaking like a mouse" Sasuke teased knowing that Gaara was experiencing his first crush. No one knew but Sasuke and Hinata, and Gaara was already regretting telling them.

XxXxXx

 **Flashback**

 **(A/N The day after the events of last chapter)**

Sasuke was showing Gaara around the village in an effort to get Gaara to be more sociable. Sasuke acknowledged that he wasn't the best person for the job, but he was the only one able stop Gaara in the case he went berserk.

Kakashi had assigned him this mission himself. Naruto was doing the same with Kankuro and Sakura was supposed to be with Temari, but surprisingly Shikamaru volunteered to be the one to show Temari around.

Currently Sasuke was trying to find out more information about Gaara that he didn't already know, and Gaara was doing the same.

"Gaara I know why you carry the gourd on your back, but isn't it heavy?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm used to it now, so I barely feel the effects. What was that other pattern of your Sharingan that I saw when you pinned me against the wall during the first round?" Gaara asked.

"That's the Mangekyo Sharingan. There's a long history about it, and we don't really have the time to sit down and talk about it" Sasuke replied. Gaara nodded accepting his answer as he looked around his surroundings.

"Why are your siblings nervous around you?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I was homicidal. After they were forced to stop playing with me, I didn't view them as my siblings, and Shukaku's bloodlust didn't discriminate" Gaara said.

" **Don't blame me for everything like you didn't enjoy it too"** Shukaku complained in Gaara's head, but Gaara simply ignored him.

"Where are you taking me?" Gaara asked looking around.

"I'm going to the flower shop. I didn't like my sensei commenting about my 'boyfriend' skills, so I'm getting Hinata some flowers" Sasuke said.

Gaara turned to Sasuke with a teasing smirk. Sasuke simply ignored the look as he walked into the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino waved Sasuke over to the register.

"I'm guessing you're for some flowers for Hinata right Sasuke?" Ino asked. Sasuke nodded and Ino gave him some violets causing Sasuke to smirk in approval, then she noticed that Gaara was with him.

"This is the guy that you fought in the Chunin Exams right? He's cute" Ino said winking at him.

Gaara's eyes widened as a blush started to creep onto his face and he froze. He looked at Sasuke, who had a look on his face that said 'introduce yourself'. Gaara nodded and cleared his throat.

"I'm Gaara of the Desert and I'm interested to know your name as well" Gaara said bowing slightly.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka and my family owns this flower shop. So, any female in particular you want to get flowers for?" Ino asked.

"Not at the moment, I was just walking around with Sasuke and he led me here to get flowers for Hinata-san... Do you have someone who gives you flowers?" Gaara asked.

Ino's eyes widened at the question, but then see let a sly smirk form on her face. She leaned on the counter and pout a fake pout on her face.

"No. No one seems to like me enough to buy me flowers, and I'm starting to think I'm not pretty enough to be looked at that way by someone" Ino said with fake tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

' _ **Gaara you better not fall for this act'**_ Sasuke thought while rolling his eyes.

"That's not true at all. You're very pleasing to look at. In fact what are your favorite flowers?" Gaara asked . Sasuke smacked his forehead, but he smirked too.

"Huh my favorite? I don't have a favorite flower. I love all flowers!" Ino said smiling brightly.

"Hmm in that case I'll take those" Gaara said pointing to the white flowers with yellow in the middle.

"The Desert Dandelion! Great choice Gaara, whoever you give them too would always be reminded of you whenever they look at the flowers" Ino said handing Gaara the flowers while faking her obliviousness, making Sasuke roll his eyes again.

"These are for you Ino-san. You're beautiful" Gaara said awkwardly extending the flowers back towards her with a nervous smile on his face. Ino's eyes sparkled and she blushed as she took the flowers back from Gaara.

"Thank you! You didn't have to do that Gaara-kun, and do you really think I'm beautiful?" Ino asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't of said it if I didn't believe it whole heartedly" Gaara said.

Ino squealed and lunged at Gaara giving him a tight hug. Gaara's face was the same shade as his hair. He looked at Sasuke with a 'What do I do?' look; Sasuke gestured to return to hug and Gaara did. He admitted that it felt kind of nice.

"Well as much as I hate to end this moment between you two; Hinata is waiting on us, so Gaara and I have to go" Sasuke said ignoring Gaara's glare as Ino let go of him.

"Of course say hello to Hinata for me! And Gaara we should hang out before you leave" Ino said with a wink. Gaara blushed and nodded as he and Sasuke walked out of the shop.

As they were walking towards the Uchiha District, Sasuke spoke up.

"I already know you like her, and I'm telling Hinata. Do you need help, or do you think you can woo her alone?" Sasuke asked. Gaara looked at Sasuke as if he was stupid.

"Of course I need help, I just made my first friends yesterday, so I don't know how to talk to girls. Especially girls I find attractive" Gaara said. His face remained stoic, but Sasuke could tell his friend was inwardly panicking.

"Alright then me and Hinata will do what we can" Sasuke promised, Gaara nodded and thanked him, unaware that Sasuke was one of the worse people to ask for romantic advice.

 **End Flashback**

XxXxXx

"Shut up Uchiha. I'm not doing this with you today, and I regret asking for your help" Gaara said glaring at Sasuke.

"You'd prefer if the loser or the Hyuuga to help you with this?" Sasuke asked already knowing the answer.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I don't even know why I'm still talking to you, Hinata's the one who's been coaching me" Gaara said shaking his head.

As if on cue, Hinata walked up to them and lightly slapped Sasuke's shoulder.

"Didn't I ask you to stop antagonizing Gaara about his crush?" Hinata asked with a sigh.

"Sorry Hime, he makes it too easy sometimes" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Sasuke-kun is right though Gaara. The only way to get Ino to like you is for you to hang out with her as much as you can. You don't really need to talk because she'll do enough talking for the both of you, but you do need to be around her" Hinata said.

Sasuke scoffed when Gaara nodded his head as if Hinata's words were law. Hinata basically said what he said, but in a nicer way. Just when Sasuke was starting to say something to tease Gaara more, Naruto came up a put his arm around Gaara's shoulder. Haku, Sakura and Neji also made their way towards them.

"We'll sure miss you here in the leaf Gaara, but I understand why you have to go back and help the sand rebuild. It must be tough ya know? I wouldn't know what to do if my father was a Kage and died" Naruto said.

Sasuke sweat dropped and decided it would be best if he kept his mouth shut. His best friend didn't know that his father was actually the 4th Hokage. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized something about his two friends.

Both had Tailed Beasts inside of them, and both of their fathers had been the 4th Kage of their respective villages. Sasuke idly wondered if there were anymore similarities between Naruto and Gaara.

"It's fine. My father and I never really got the proper amount of time to bond" Gaara said.

"Tell me about it" Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time, before blinking and looking at each other in surprise.

"That was weird" they say at the same time again.

"Stop that" The say at the same time again glaring at each other.

"Bastard stop copying me" Naruto said pointing a accusing finger at Sasuke.

"I'm not. Why would I copy someone with a lack of functioning brain cells" Sasuke sneered.

"I don't understand! What are you trying to say?" Naruto demanded.

"My point exactly" Sasuke replied with a smirk.

Naruto was beginning to see red and he wanted to hit his best friend, so naturally he challenged him to a sparring match, which Sasuke responded to by activating his Sharingan but before the two teenagers could start their fight; Sasuke had his chakra points blocked by Hinata and Naruto had 4 senbon launched into his side effectively ending the would be sparring match.

Sasuke and Naruto looked up in pain as they're girlfriends looked down at them.

"We came here today to see off Gaara-san and his siblings. This isn't the time for this" Haku said with a sweet smile on her face.

"You two are both too old to be fighting over silly stuff like this. Now both of you apologize to Gaara and his siblings now" Hinata demanded with her Byakugan glaring at them.

They stood up immediately and bowed. They both apologized to Gaara, Kankuro and Temari who looked at them in amusement.

"Looks like you guys are completely whipped" Gaara teased smirking at his friends.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Gaara while Sasuke rolled his eyes. Gaara was lucky that he wasn't the type to expose secrets because Gaara was whipped by Ino and they weren't even dating.

"They are and it's humiliating. They act like that can't stick up for themselves when there girlfriends say something. Sakura would never force me to apologize if I didn't want too" Neji said with a smirk.

Everyone took a step back from Neji when Sakura advanced towards Neji with a sweet smile. She got close to Neji and whispered something into his ear that made his eyes widen. He quickly spoke again.

"I apologize for my arrogance. I don't know what came over me" Neji said quietly with a bow.

"What did you say to him?" Hinata whispered to Sakura. Haku was close by so that she could hear too.

"I told him that if he didn't apologize then I wouldn't kiss him for a week" Sakura said with a wink and the girls all shared a laugh.

"Well we're going to get going now. It has been nice hanging with you leaf nin, see you later" Kankuro said walking away and leaving the village. Temari smiled and waved at everyone before following her brother.

Gaara stood still for a moment since he didn't know how to properly thank them for being his friend. Sasuke noticed Gaara's trouble and spoke up for him.

"It's fine Gaara, you don't have to say anything. We understand" Sasuke said smirking at Gaara.

Gaara nodded at walked after his siblings with a small smile on his face. When he was a far enough distance away he turned back and smiled at the Konoha. Gaara swore that day that he'd never forget the people in the village that befriended him and didn't treat him like a monster.

' _ **Maybe one day I can do something for them to repay their kindness'**_ Gaara thought.

" **Yeah like that's going to happen. You'll always be a monster just like me, and without the Uchiha to stop me, we'll go on a rampage when we get back to Suna"** Shukaku thought laughing but he stopped when Gaara placed another restraining gate on him.

"Shut up Shukaku."

XxXxXx

After Gaara left, Sasuke and the others went to the Uchiha District to hang out. They would've went to the Hyuuga Compound, but Naruto wasn't allowed there at the moment because of his outburst at the Chunin Exams.

They were currently in the living room talking about the Hyuuga Clan and how they were going to change it. Well it was mostly Naruto complaining about it and explaining his plan while everyone else pointed out the problems with his plan.

"What if we overthrow Hiashi-pops? Between all 6 of us I think we can take him down" Naruto said.

"If we attack the Head of the Hyuuga clan then the rest of the clan will get involved, and it'll also lead to civil unrest which is not a good thing" Haku said.

"How about we..." Naruto started but he was cut off by Neji.

"There is nothing that you can do about it Idiot. All we can do is wait for Hinata-sama and the Uchiha to take over the clan and then they'll change it" Neji said causing a dark blush to form on Hinata's face at the implication of her and Sasuke being married.

Sasuke knew that Hinata was the Heiress to the clan, so that means that by marriage he would be the Head of the Clan, but he had never thought much about it until Neji brought it up. He'd much rather be the Head of the Uchiha Clan than the Hyuuga Clan, but he'd do whatever Hinata wanted to do.

"Hinata do you want to be the Head of the Hyuuga clan? Because you're gonna also be the Matriarch of the reviving Uchiha Clan. I don't think I want you stressing over a whole clan when we'll have our own kids to think about" Sasuke said expressing his opinion.

Hinata felt like she was about to faint. She was already light headed because her cousin mentioned marriage with Sasuke, but now Sasuke mentioned kids... their kids.

"I-you-us-we-kids" Hinata stuttered before she finally fainted, but Sasuke caught her before she hit the floor.

"Good going you two. You made Hina-chan faint" Naruto accused pointing at the two.

"I was simply stating what I feel the most likely scenario for my freedom" Neji said defending himself.

"And I just asked her a question" Sasuke said still holding Hinata tight in his arms.

Haku and Sakura shook their heads simultaneously as the boys started to argue. The boys were just idiots sometimes, and that's why the girls were in charge. Even if the boys would never admit it, everyone knew that Hinata, Haku and Sakura call the shots.

When Chakra started to flare during the argument the girls quickly interjected.

"Come on Naruto. Jiraiya-san will be upset if your late for your trip" Haku said grabbing Naruto's hand and starting towards the door.

"Wait where are you guys going" Sasuke asked with his curiosity.

"Pervy sage is taking me to a nearby village to gather information about one of his old teammates. I'm going because he promised that he'd teach me a new jutsu" Naruto said.

' _ **This is the time when Itachi goes after Naruto this my chance to talk to him'**_ Sasuke thought.

"I see have fun" Sasuke said shocking everyone in the room, but he didn't notice the looks everyone gave him as he began to walk out the door.

"I'm taking Hinata home, whoever leaves last make sure you lock the door behind you" Sasuke said closing the door.

It was quiet for a whole 2 minutes after Sasuke left with Hinata and everyone was still in shock.

"Did Sasuke just tell you to have fun Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I think he did..." Naruto replied.

"Do you think something is wrong with him?" Neji asked looking at the other three.

"Maybe Sasuke-san just wanted alone time with Hinata-chan" Haku suggested.

No one had any better explanation of Sasuke's actions, so they just went with that.

"Well I'm leaving so see you guys when I get back" Naruto said as he and Haku walked out of the door.

XxXxXx

By the time Sasuke got to the Hyuuga Compound, Hinata had waken up. She asked Sasuke to put her down, but he refused, so now Sasuke was carrying a red faced Hinata through the Hyuuga grounds and towards her house.

She buried her face in Sasuke's chest when she noticed the looks she was getting from her clan. Then Hanabi came out of the house and greeted them with Hiashi and Hizashi following behind her. That was when Sasuke decided to put her down.

"Sasuke-nii how are you doing? Can you train with me? Are you going to stay for dinner?" Hanabi said asking multiple questions. Hiashi moved forward a placed a hand on Hanabi's shoulder.

"You're bringing her home early today Sasuke" Hiashi observed.

"Hinata fainted earlier so I decided to bring her home, and I also have a mission" Sasuke said. He ignored the look Hinata gave him because he didn't want to explain it in public.

Hiashi studied Hinata's flustered state for a moment before nodding.

"You know where her room is. See too it that she goes to sleep, it seems to me that she needs her rest" Hiashi said. Sasuke just nodded and walked into the large home.

Once they were in her room Hinata gave Sasuke a look that said 'explain'. Sasuke smirked a little at how well Hinata knew him. Between her and Naruto, Sasuke didn't know who knew him better.

"I know where Itachi is. I'm going to talk to him" Sasuke said.

Hinata's eyes widened when she thought about what Sasuke said. He was going to see his brother. The same brother that massacred his whole clan, even if he was ordered to do it like they thought, Hinata thought it would be tough for Sasuke to face him.

"Who gave you this mission" Hinata asked. Sasuke looked away and Hinata knew immediately that this was a mission he gave himself and that he had planned on going alone. Hinata was not going to allow that.

"Okay then I'm going with you" Hinata said.

"No you're not" Sasuke replied glaring at her a little.

HInata knew from his voice that he was going to stubbornly argue against the idea of her coming with him, but she didn't have the will to argue with him. So she decided to play dirty.

Hinata got closer to Sasuke and pressed her body against his while still looking him in his eyes.

"Are you ashamed of me? You don't want me to meet my future brother in law? Am I not worthy of meeting the only blood family you have left" Hinata whined with false tears starting to form in her eyeshadow she snuggled into his chest.

Sasuke gaped at Hinata.

' _ **She's fighting dirty! I can't think straight under these conditions'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

He wasn't ashamed of Hinata at all. He actually did want two to meet someday but he wasn't sure if Itachi would attack her to try and anger him. He didn't want to take that chance, but he did realize that Hinata was a capable ninja too and he had faith in her. Sasuke took a deep breath barely believing what he was about to say.

"Fine Hime you can come, but we have to leave soon and you have to promise that you won't try to fight " Sasuke said.

The effects were immediate. The tears had dried and Hinata gave him a bright smile before kissing his cheek.

"Lets go" Hinata said walking out of the room. Sasuke stared at her in wonder before shaking his head thinking.

' _ **I'm so whipped.'**_

XxXxXx

A few hours later Naruto heard a knocking on the door. He and Jiraiya had been staying in a nearby motel, and Jiraiya had a key, so Naruto was confused on who would be knocking.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked but he got no answer.

When he opened the door he was face to face with a large man that looked like a shark-human hybrid, and another man that looked very similar to Sasuke, and he had a Sharingan.

Being the genius that he was, Naruto's mouth opened when he realized who was standing in front of him, but another voice beat him to it.

"Itachi..."

Itachi froze and then turned around. His Sharingan stared into a set of identical eyes. The eyes of his little brother.

"Hello...Sasuke."

 **TBC**

 **Hey everyone. Sorry about the long wait, its been a busy week and I hope that everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving ate good yesterday**

 **I had a guest reviewer ask about lemons in the story. I have no problem writing lemons, so I can add them when the characters get the right age. Just let me know if that's something that y'all want to read, now on to the reviews**

 **GinHanelle- Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you like the story so much and yeah I have plans for Gaara, Itachi AND Orochimaru to play huge roles later on during the Shippuden days**

 **Drew86419- Thank you! I'm really grateful that you like it. Reviews like this inspire me to keep writing**

 **Bigchef (Guest)- Thank you! I'm trying to keep Neji from being too out of character, and there definitely will be jealousy scenes, for almost every main pairing in this fic**

 **Lilaclouds (Guest)- I'm with you. In my eyes SasuHina just makes more sense, but that's just my personal opinion**

 **Shikara Gizzel- I'm glad you liked their talk**

 **Bernadette Dei- I'll continue for as long as you and everyone else continue to review and inspire me**

 **Islamy96- I personally don't think that Gaara was malicious by choice. I think the only thing he needed was a friend, or someone who didn't treat him like a monster, so I think he wouldn't want to continue to fight his friend.**

 **Lusalec- Thank you!**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you! I'm glad you liked it**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Thank you! And I guarantee Hinata will improve greatly over this 2 years, and I think her trainer will probably surprise most of you ;)**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you Antex!**

 **Pianomaster135- Thank you!**

 **Anon (Guest)- At the time his body couldn't contain that much power. He's much closer to it now, especially with his MS**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- I definitely agree with you**


	14. I Forgive You

**Chapter 14**

Naruto and Hinata looked back and forth between the two Uchiha brothers. They both had intense looks in their eyes, but neither spoke. They just stared at each other with their Sharingan active.

"Leave Sasuke. I have no interest in you right now" Itachi said dismissively as his eyes left his brother's and looked to the Hyuuga girl that was behind him.

' _ **What is she doing here? Could it be that my little brother has allowed something other than vengeance to fill his heart? That's unacceptable, he can't afford distractions. Looks like I'll end up having to kill a Hyuuga'**_ Itachi mused to himself as he stared at Hinata.

Sasuke noticed where Itachi's eyes had wondered too, and he didn't like it. Sasuke knew that Itachi was probably analyzing the situation, and had come to the conclusion that Hinata was important to him. Sasuke stepped in front of Hinata just in case Itachi attacked. Sasuke knew that Itachi had a habit of killing things that were important to him.

"That's not going to happen because I have things that I want to discuss with you. Now" Sasuke said gathering enough chakra for a Chidori making Itachi look back at him with mild surprise.

Naruto and Hinata's eyes widened when they saw the Chidori. They didn't think that Sasuke would actually attack his brother.

The tension in the air was thick between Itachi and Sasuke. Even Kisame was wary as he looked at his partner.

"Do you want me to take care of him Itachi?" Kisame asked grabbing the handle of Samehada.

"No. I'll handle this, you just stay out of it" Itachi said walking towards Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked and rushed at Itachi at half speed. He didn't actually want to hurt his brother, but he wanted to make Itachi think he was serious about attacking him. His plan depended on it.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and kicked him, sending Sasuke flying and crashing into a wall. Before Sasuke could get up, Itachi had grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall. Itachi stared straight into Sasuke's eyes and punched him in the stomach.

Sasuke wheezed in pain as Itachi continued to punch him in the stomach over and over again. Sasuke wasn't worried though, he knew that he just had to withstand this barrage until Itachi used Tsukuyomi.

Once Itachi had figured that Sasuke was at his limit he decided to torture him. He didn't like hurting Sasuke, but he had too. He had to make sure that Sasuke didn't lose focus of what he's supposed to do.

"You're too weak Sasuke. You still don't have enough hate to defeat me. You've wasted your time charming the little Hyuuga girl instead of focusing on your hate. Let me remind you of what I did to our family" Itachi said as he activated his Mangekyou intending to put Sasuke into Tsukuyomi.

"SASUKE" Naruto and Hinata screamed as they ran towards Itachi and Sasuke to try to help, but Kisame intercepted them.

"Sorry Kiddies, but Itachi and Sasuke are bonding. It'll be rude to interrupt them, so why don't you play with me instead" Kisame said with a smirk as he pointed Samehada towards them.

"Out of the way Shark-boy or we will kick your ass! **MULTI SHAODW CLONE JUTSU** " Naruto said as 50 clones appeared behind him. Hinata activated her Byakugan and got into her Gentle Fist stance.

Kisame still blocked their path as he let some of his chakra swirl around him. Naruto and Hinata winced at power Kisame was emitting.

Then Sasuke let out a loud scream of pain.

"Oh looks like the shows starting" Kisame said with a smirk.

Naruto and Hinata could do nothing but look on helplessly as Sasuke was put into a Genjutsu, but they didn't know that this was all apart of Sasuke's plan.

Itachi's eyes widened when Sasuke smirked and activated his own Mangekyou right before they went into the Tsukuyomi world.

XxXxXx

 **In The Tsukuyomi World**

Itachi looked in surprise as he stared at his little brother, who was staring back at him, completely unaffected by his Genjutsu. The craziest part to Itachi was that he had somehow activated his Mangekyou. He tensed when he saw Sasuke give him a smile.

"Thanks for activating the Jutsu. Now we can talk without worrying about anybody hearing us" Sasuke said walking towards Itachi.

Itachi was confused. Why wasn't Sasuke trying to kill him? Why was he smiling? Did Obito tell him the truth behind the massacre of their clan? Itachi paled and hoped that he was wrong.

"I know that you're probably confused, even though you're face doesn't show it. I'm going to cut straight to the point. I know the truth" Sasuke said.

Internally Itachi was panicking, but his outside features were still composed.

"The truth about what?" Itachi asked feigning obliviousness.

"Why you massacred our clan... I know that you were ordered to do it, and I don't want revenge on you. What I want is revenge on the people who dared to use my big brother for their dirty work" Sasuke said as he stopped right in front of Itachi.

"Sasuke. There are details about the situation that you don't understand" Itachi said sighing.

"Oh? What don't I understand? The fact that the Uchiha Clan was blamed for the Kyuubi attack on the village 14 years ago, or maybe the fact that Father was planning a Coup that would leave the village weak and open to enemy attacks? Wait, no, maybe the fact that Danzo gave you the choice to either massacre the clan and save me or he'd do it himself without discrimination. I know everything Itachi" Sasuke said.

Itachi eyes widened at Sasuke's words. He had to know if Danzo or Obito told him, so that he knew who to kill for ruining his plans.

"Who told you?" Itachi asked.

"It was the 3rd Hokage right before he was killed" Sasuke lied knowing that Itachi had no way of verifying or denying that.

Itachi frowned at the knowledge the Lord 3rd had broken his promise to him before he had died, but then he let out a heavy breath.

"So I guess there's no way of repenting for my actions. Sasuke how can you even stand to look at me knowing what I've done to our family?" Itachi asked running a hand through his long hair.

"Itachi I've already forgiven you and I have a perfect way for you to atone for your sins" Sasuke said.

"Mind telling me what that would be?" Itachi asked raising his eyebrow at his little brother.

"Stop lying to me, and stop trying to do everything alone. Let me and my friends help help you. I just want the big brother that I looked up to so much to be in my life. I've missed you so much even though I was supposed to hate you. I love you Itachi and I don't want you suffering it anymore" Sasuke said as he felt his eyes fill with tears despite his best efforts to hold them in.

After Itachi had died in his past life, Sasuke had spent the rest of his life trying to avenge his brothers death. It had led to a lot of dumb decisions being made, but now he had the chance to fix all of it, so he was having a tough time controlling his emotions.

' _ **Damn. I can't believe that I'm crying. I imagined that I'd be much more composed when I spoke with him, now he'll probably call me foolish or something'**_ Sasuke thought scolding himself for showing weakness as a few tears managed to creep down his face.

Itachi looked at his little brother with a shocked look before he smiled. A real genuine smile. It had been 7 years since Itachi had smiled.

"Of course Sasuke. You have a deal" Itachi said poking Sasuke in the forehead.

When Sasuke felt Itachi's fingers poke his forehead, his tears stopped. He then touched his forehead and smiled at the familiar feeling.

"So now that we've settled that; mind telling me how you unlocked your Mangekyou? Did you lose someone?" Itachi asked.

"Long story short during the Chunin Exams, Hinata's life was being threatened and I couldn't take watching her get attacked any longer. I jumped over the rail and pinned the guy that was hurting her, and apparently that was the trigger I needed for my Mangekyou to be unlocked" Sasuke said.

"Ah so that Hyuuga that came with you is Hinata? You know that you were going to be betrothed to her before the whole massacre happened? It was Father's way of creating peace between the two clans, I was gonna be the head of the Uchiha Clan and you'd be the Husband of the Hyuuga head" Itachi said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Itachi looked at Sasuke's surprised face and laughed as a blush started to creep its on his face.

"The fact that you 2 still found each other regardless of the circumstances tells me that you were meant to be. I'll have a great time teasing you in the future, but we have things to take care of first" Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded and for the next few hours the two brothers talked about the enemies that had to be dealt with. Itachi told Sasuke about Obito, the Akatsuki and how he was Jiraiya's spy within the organization. Sasuke told Itachi about his plans on going to Orochimaru, defeating Danzo, and how he had a team of friends willing to help him.

"We need to discuss this with the rest of my team. Is Kisame trustworthy, or do we need to put him down now?" Sasuke asked.

"Kisame is a trusted ally, and he's very good at keeping a secret. We're also more loyal to each other than we are to Pein, but if he becomes a problem, or if we have any reason to believe that he'll turn on us, then I'll personally deal with him" Itachi said.

Sasuke thought for a moment and nodded, but then he remembered something important.

"I also know about your disease. You're going to get treatment for it right?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi was wondering how Sasuke knew all this information. He didn't recall telling anyone, but Kisame and Obito about his disease, so Sasuke knowing about it was unnerving. Nevertheless, he smiled at his brother's concern.

"Yes I will definitely take better care of myself, but I'll require a medic to actually do the surgery to get rid of the disease... and speaking of surgery, we should probably switch our eyes so that we can both get the Eternal Mangekyou. None of our plans will succeed if we both go blind" Itachi said.

"Hmm. I might know some one who can do both. I know that you don't trust Orochimaru, but meet me in the Sound Village in a year. I'm sure he'll instruct Kabuto to do the surgery and eye transplant if he thinks he's getting a stronger vessel out of it" Sasuke said.

Itachi smirked at his Sasuke's manipulative personality, but Itachi had a much better idea.

"Actually we may be able to get Orochimaru to help us without him expecting anything in return" Itachi said.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked.

"Kotoamatsukami" Itachi said.

"...Again what is that" Sasuke asked when hearing the ridiculously long name of whatever plan Itachi had.

"Do you remember our cousin Shisui?"

Sasuke thought back and remembered the other Uchiha Clan prodigy. The only one in the clan that was stronger than his older brother regardless of how much Sasuke used to say otherwise.

"Of course" Sasuke replied.

"Well that was his Mangekyou's ability. It's the most powerful Genjutsu ever. The person won't even be able to tell that they're in a Genjutsu regardless of how powerful they are. They only catch is that it can only be used once every 10 years" Itachi said.

Sasuke thought about the information his brother had given him, he knew that Itachi's plan was the easiest way to get Orochimaru to do what they wanted, but he didn't feel comfortable wasting such a powerful jutsu.

"We'll save that jutsu as a trump card. I don't want to waste it on something trivial like that" Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded in agreement. Sasuke was right, there was no reason to waste it when they could force Orochimaru if it came down to it.

"Well I'm going to dispel the jutsu. It's been a few minutes in the regular world and we probably look weird just staring at each other" Itachi said.

"I guarantee that Naruto started a fight with Kisame" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"There is no way that your friend is that stupid" Itachi responded.

Sasuke didn't even have time to reply to that as Itachi dispelled his Tsukuyomi and they were thrust back into the real world.

XxXxXx

 **Back in the Real World**

Sasuke blinked at Itachi who blinked back, both deactivating their Sharingans. The two brothers looked to see Kisame slicing through a clone of Naruto while 5 more clones were trying to pin him to the ground, and Hinata was waiting for an opening to strike.

"Kisame enough playing around; Sasuke knows the truth. We're going to Konoha to meet with Sasuke's allies and talk about what to do in regards to our enemies" Itachi said.

Kisame, Naruto and Hinata all had looks of shock on their faces, but before any of them could respond another voice spoke up.

"Looks like I missed quite the exchange. Do you honestly think that you two Akatsuki members will be allowed in Konoha?" Jiraiya said dropping the girl that he was carrying.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. He had forgotten about Jiraiya and he knew that he was nowhere near powerful enough to threaten the Sannin into staying quiet. Thankfully, Naruto spoke up.

"Pervy Sage their are things about Itachi that you don't know about. Itachi and Sasuke apparently talked to each other with their freaky eye powers, so I trust him and think you should let him come to Konoha. We'll just be in the Uchiha District so no one would know he was there anyway" Naruto said pleading with his sensei.

Then Naruto remembered that someone else would be coming too so he quickly added.

"But I don't trust fish face here, so we might want to take him out" Naruto said glaring at Kisame who simply smirked back at him.

"I know that Itachi can be trusted, he's my mole in the Akatsuki, my concern is that Kisame goes and reports this to their leader. If that's what you plan on doing I'll end you right here and now" Jiraiya said.

Kisame looked at Jiraiya for a moment, wondering whether or not he can take him, before turning to Itachi.

"Why don't you just tell them that I'm on your side regardless on what you do. Besides I'm sure you told your brother in the Tsukuyomi that you'd keep me in check, so all of this is unnecessary" Kisame said putting Samehada back in it's sheath trying to show that he wasn't going to fight if Itachi wasn't going to.

Jiraiya was still not convinced that Kisame wouldn't act up, or report information back to the Akatsuki leader, but he trusted Itachi so he had to hear it from him.

"Itachi can we trust Kisame?" Jiraiya asked.

Itachi closed his eyes for a moment thinking carefully.

"Yes we can trust Kisame. I'll know if he's acting funny and I'll deal with him accordingly. Now can we go to Konoha, I'd like to meet and speak with Sasuke's allies and go over our plans as soon as possible because we have report back to Pein in a few days" Itachi said.

"Alright lets get going then. Make sure that you disguise yourselves, because I'd rather not deal with questions from the gate keepers" Jiraiya said.

Kisame and Itachi both did transformation jutsus to hide their appearances. Jiraiya nodded in approval then they all headed towards Konoha.

XxXxXx

Neji, Sakura, Kakashi, Hanare, Haku, Zabuza were all in Sasuke and Naruto's house sitting on the couches. Jiraiya had instructed them to come, but neither of them had any idea why.

At least until Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki were escorted down the stairs by Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata. The responses were immediate.

Kakashi and Zabuza stood in front of the teenagers to protect them. Kakashi had already lifted his forehead protecter and Zabuza had pointed the executioner's blade at Kisame.

"What are you doing here senpai?" Zabuza said addressing Kisame who looked at him in shock.

"Can't say I was expecting you to be here brat. I thought that you were working as a mercenary for hire or something in the Land of Waves, but here you are in Fire country with a Konoha forehead protector" Kisame said smirking.

"Shut up. I won't let you patronize me, anyway explain why you're here" Zabuza said.

"That's Itachi's job, besides I'm interested in seeing how much you've grown since the last time I've seen you" Kisame said the undertone of the challenge strong in the air. Zabuza smirked but didn't reply.

Kakashi looked back in forth from Itachi to Sasuke before he realized what this was about. He put his forehead protector back over his Sharingan before speaking.

"So I'm guessing that your theory about Itachi was correct Sasuke, so I see that you two have spoken to each other and sorted things out" Kakashi said with a smile.

Itachi looked at his former Anbu commander with a small smile before he addressed the others in the room.

"So you all are Sasuke's trusted allies? My name is Itachi Uchiha; I'm grateful that you are willing to sacrifice everything to help him out and I am forever in your debt. Now that you're here we can discuss what to do about Danzo and the other threats to Konoha" Itachi said.

"What do you mean by other threats?" Neji asked with his arms crossed.

"The Akatsuki which is an organization that I'm currently spying on. It is composed of 10 members who's strength is relative to mine. Take my partner Kisame here for example; he is known as the Tailed Beast without a tail" Itachi said.

The teenagers all looked at Kisame with a look of surprise. The man just smirked at the attention.

"Itachi has been feeding me information about the Organization ever since he's been a rouge ninja. Currently we're not strong enough to defeat them if they're all together, but with the proper training we'll be able to take them out in a few years" Jiraiya said.

"You, Itachi and I are stronger than most of the Akatsuki members, and even the copy ninja and Zabuza would give them a run for their money. There's someone else you have to know about, someone even stronger and more dangerous than any Akatsuki member" Kisame spoke up surprising everyone including Itachi.

"Who could this person be senpai" Zabuza asked.

"Madara Uchiha" Itachi answered for his partner.

The name sent chills down the spine of everyone in the room, even Sasuke. Even though he knew that Itachi was talking about Obito; He still could remember the man who stabbed a sword through his heart. The man who was a reincarnation just like he is.

Kakashi froze as well. He saw Itachi look at him when he said the name, and the look said that 'we have to talk about this'. Kakashi wasn't sure who this Madara was, but he knew it couldn't have been the one of Legend that fought evenly against the 1st Hokage.

"We don't know what he's planning, but he's much more dangerous then the Akatsuki. Even I fear him, so we have to find a way to deal with him as well" Kisame said.

"Well after we find Tsunade and convince her to be Hokage; I'm going to take Naruto and we're going to go training. We'll be gone for about 2 years, so we shouldn't put any plans in motion until we return" Jiraiya said.

Itachi nodded at Jiraiya then turned to the rest of the room.

"How do you all plan on preparing for the next 2 years?" Itachi asked.

"Hiashi-sama is starting to teach Hinata-sama, and I advanced techniques of our clan. I imagine that in 2 years Hinata-sama and I will be two of the strongest Hyuugas in the clan if not the strongest two Hyuugas" Neji said and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Zabuza and I will spend the next 2 years training together since Naruto will be gone" Haku said somewhat sadly.

"I'm going to train my hardest by myself, and I'll probably train with Neji-kun or Kakashi-sensei when they're not busy" Sakura said.

"I'm still training to use my Mangekyou without getting tired. Given 2 years I'll have it mastered. It'll also help that Sasuke and Hanare will be there keeping me focused huh" Kakashi said with a slight chuckle but he went quiet when he realized that Itachi was giving Sasuke a piercing look.

"Are you sure about your choice Sasuke. Leaving the village is dangerous enough and it'll be risky to go there, especially alone" Itachi asked causing everyone to look at him.

"Leaving the Village? Risky? Where are you going Uchiha?" Neji asked with his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah what is Itachi talking about Bastard" Naruto demanded.

"Sasuke-kun you're leaving?" Hinata asked in confusion though Sasuke could see the hurt in her eyes.

' _ **Damn you Itachi. Even when we're reconnected and working together you find a way to make my life difficult'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"I think it would be best if you started explaining yourself Sasuke" Kakashi said.

"I'm going to the Sound Village to train with Orochimaru" Sasuke said.

There was a moment of silence before the room exploded.

"WHAT! WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TRAIN WITH THAT CREEP" Naruto and Sakura shouted remembering the man from the Forest of Death.

"I must admit that even I find him disturbing from time to time, and he's not the most trustworthy person" Kisame said adding his 2 cents.

"You plan on going to train with Orochimaru!? Are you out of your mind? Do you know what he is capable of? He's an S-class missing nin in every bingo book. He's only going to train you because he's probably planning on using you as his next vessel" Jiraiya said.

"I'm fully aware of who he is and what his attentions for me are, and I'm still going to go. There's so much that I can learn from him" Sasuke said not really appreciating the fact that he had to explain his actions.

"Listen to yourself Uchiha. You're willing going to a person who likely wants to take control of your body. What about Konoha? You'll be a rouge ninja if you just leave and train with a S-class criminal" Neji said.

"I see your point, but I don't think training with Orochimaru will be as beneficial as you may think" Kakashi said.

"Yeah Bastard! Besides, are you willing to leave Hina-chan for 2 years just to train with a Sannin?" Naruto asked.

"You Idiot, you're doing the same thing to Haku" Sasuke said starting to get irritated.

"Its not the same thing though, my Sannin teacher is a good guy and he isn't trying to take my body" Naruto said.

"Good guy? He's probably killed hundreds if not thousands of people just like Orochimaru has. We're all shinobi Loser, there are no good guys. There's just bad and worse" Sasuke said scoffing.

Naruto was about to continue his argument when Hinata cut him off.

"Let him go."

All eyes in the room then turned to her in surprise. Hinata didn't even blush at all of the atttention, she just continued to speak as she stared at the wall. She couldn't bring herself to look at Sasuke.

"If Sasuke-kun has already made his mind up about this then you won't be able to talk him out of this. He thinks that this will help him achieve his goal, so we should support him. Especially us Naruto-kun and Neji-nii; we made him a promise."

Sasuke looked at Hinata in shock. She had tears forming in her eyes, and she knew that he was going to leave, but she didn't try to talk him out of it like the others. Instead, she supported his decision even though it hurt her.

This was much different then when Sakura tried to stop him by talking about how much she loved him, and how she'd do anything for him to stay. She pleaded with him, but she didn't even think about how he was feeling at the time.

Sasuke had never had someone care about how he feels about something. Even Itachi did everything he did without taking into account how Sasuke would feel. Hinata had been the first one to take into account his feelings.

Sasuke felt a strange twisting in his chest as he looked at Hinata. For the first time in either of his lives Sasuke was transfixed with a female, and the thought of Hinata being hurt, caused him pain as well.

"Sasuke has to know what he's doing if he's willing go to him. I trust him completely" Hinata said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

It was at moment that Sasuke knew that Hinata was the most dangerous person that he'd ever met. He was no longer able of thinking reasonably around her, and she was now too far under his skin to be away from her for 2 years. Sasuke then made a decision that would ensure that he'd get everything he wanted.

"Hinata. I want you to come with me."

 **TBC**

 **This Chapter and the next chapter were originally supposed to be one chapter, but I decided to split them up because I didn't want to compound to much stuff into one chapter but on the the reviews**

 **Tg1unvme- I hope this chapter met your expectations**

 **RandiS- I hope I didn't take to long**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you and I hope you enjoyed there talk**

 **Bernadette Dei- Alright thank you. The M rating was for violence and torture scenes lol but there will be Lemons when they're the right age**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you and I hope that you're satisfied with the brother's reunion. You heard right lol there is a little foreshadowing in this chapter of something he'll do. I agree with waiting until they're older and GaaIno is one of my top 5 favorite couples**

 **Viola (Guest)- I like where you're going with Neji being the clan leader, but first someone has to find a way to remove the seals...**

 **Drew86419- Okay. Hope you find something that entertains you**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- I understand. I'm just trying to add some fluff in the earlier chapters because when things get serious there won't be any**

 **Itachi's Queen- I hope you liked the approach I took with Itachi**

 **Nevvy- You literally read my mind. Your review was so close to what I planned to happen that it was almost scary lol**

 **Please Read and Review and dont be afraid to speak your mind and give constructive criticism. Any questions you can review or PM me- Dishon 3**


	15. I'll Go With You

**Chapter 15**

"Hinata. I want you to come with me."

Everyone looked at Sasuke in shock. No one could believe that he had the audacity to ask Hinata to leave the village with him. Neji and Naruto were absolutely furious that Sasuke would says something like that and they were quick to voice their displeasure.

"WHAT! BASTARD WHY ARE ASKING HINATA TO GO THROUGH THIS STUPID PLAN WITH YOU? OROCHIMARU DOESN'T NEED TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR HER. THERE'S NO WAY SHE'D LEAVE WITH YOU" Naruto shouted with his arms flailing everywhere.

"For once I agree with the idiot. Hinata-sama isn't going to go with you on your idiotic training session. Did you forget that she's a main branch family member? Not only that, but she's the heiress. There's no way Hiashi-sama just lets her leave without sending a search party or something after her" Neji said.

Sasuke thought about the words of his two best friends. He knew that they were right and he knew he was being selfish in asking Hinata to come with him to the Sound Village, but Sasuke had always been a selfish person and he honestly didn't really care about their opinions.

"I agree with your friends Sasuke. Orochimaru is a very manipulative man with a great interest in Kekkei Genkai, and if he had access to both the Sharingan and Byakugan at the same time there's no telling what he'd do. Taking the Hyuuga Heiress with you isn't the wisest decision little brother" Itachi said.

"Not to mention the fact that Orochimaru has a habit of giving cursed seals to his female students. Look at Anko for example, she still sometimes suffers from the effects of the curse seal. Do you really want to put Hinata through that?" Kakashi said.

"Look kid this is just a bad idea overall. I know Orochimaru better than anyone and I can tell you with absolute certainty that he'll do more harm than good to both of you. I'm still against it, but at the end of the day it's not my decision to make" Jiraiya said.

Kisame, Zabuza, Hanare, Haku and Sakura just stayed quiet. They didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation that hadn't already been said so they were just listening to the others. Sasuke was grateful for that. He had grown tired of everyone telling him how bad of an idea it was. Last time he checked he had only asked Hinata.

"Thank you all for contributions to the conversation, but I asked Hinata. It's her decision to make regardless of what you all say" Sasuke glaring at Naruto and Neji who both glared back at Sasuke with malice.

With that comment all eyes turned to Hinata and awaited her answer. Hinata had been eerily quiet since Sasuke had asked her to come with him.

Hinata looked at Sasuke. She really wasn't sure what she should do. Neji had brought up a good point about her father not allowing her to go without sending the entire clan after her, so she didn't know how she would be able to leave with Sasuke and she also wasn't fond of being in the same vicinity as an S-class rouge ninja for 2 years. Especially one who is known to have in interest in Kekkei Genkai.

She would've said no instantly if it hadn't been for the look in Sasuke's eyes.

To everyone else in the room Sasuke had his normal emotionless look on his face, but Hinata knew better. She knew Sasuke better than anyone and she could see the nervousness behind the stoic mask. It was almost as if he needed her.

As Hinata continued to look at Sasuke, she realized that she couldn't leave him to do this alone, especially if he wanted her to go with him. She looked at Sasuke with a new resolve before speaking.

"I'll go with you" Hinata said with certainty.

"Yeah Bastard you heard her,, she's not going to... Wait WHAT" Naruto said in shock.

"Hinata-sama, I think you need to reconsider your decision. Hiashi-sama will never allow you to do something like that, even if you do manage to escape him, you'd lose your position as heiress. There are just too many problems that would result from you going with him" Neji said.

"What if they were assigned an S-class mission? That way Hiashi wouldn't be able to revoke Hinata's heiress status, or send out search parties for her" Kakashi suggested.

Sasuke smirked at his Sensei; While Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Who's side are you on Sensei!?" Naruto asked.

"Well it's obvious that Sasuke isn't going to change his mind, and if Hinata wants to go then I say to let her go. I trust that Sasuke isn't going to let anything happen to her" Kakashi said nonchalantly while opening his Icha Icha Paradise book.

"Put that book away" Hanare said glaring at Kakashi who wisely returned the book to his kunai pouch, much to the amusement of Jiraiya, Zabuza and Kisame.

Before Naruto could yell some more, Jiraiya spoke up.

"Well that would be our wisest choice. After I convince Tsunade to be the 5th Hokage, I can tell her to assign you two on this so called 'mission'" Jiraiya said.

"Pervy Sage you too?" Naruto said furiously.

"I told you to stop calling me that! And there's no point in trying to talk them out of it. I still don't like that they plan on going to Orochimaru for training, but it might be their destiny. Every shinobi has their own path to follow, so I won't stand in their way" Jiraiya said.

"What is wrong with all of you? I am Hinata-sama's assigned protector and I won't allow her to go" Neji said crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Neji aren't you also supposed to do anything I ask you to do?" Hinata asked.

"Yes but..."

"No buts. I'm going and that's just what it is" Hinata said causing Neji to go quiet and frown at the floor.

She hated using her status to get what she wants, but it was the only way to get Neji to back off. She didn't want her cousin to keep up a pointless argument.

"As you wish Hinata-sama" Neji said with a mix of sadness and anger in his voice.

Sakura moved to stand next to Neji in an attempt to calm him down. Neji smiled at her, but he still had a sad look in his eyes.

"Well it's been decided. Sasuke and Hinata will go to the Sound village to train under Orochimaru. Jiraiya, if Tsunade agrees to become Hokage then please get her assign it as a mission, so there won't be as many complications. Kisame and I should be going now, so I wish you good luck. We'll be in the Sound Village in 1 year" Itachi said as he and Kisame performed a transformation jutsu to disguise themselves.

"Okay I'll see you then Itachi" Sasuke said as his brother and Kisame left the Uchiha District.

"We should probably get going too Naruto. Tsunade doesn't like to stay in the same place too long, so we have to catch her while I know where she is" Jiraiya said looking at Naruto who seemed to have a pout on his face.

"Alright Pervy Sage let's go, we'll discuss this more when we get back Sasuke. Don't think that this over or that I agree with your plan" Naruto said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. He knew that his best friend will try everything in his power to keep him in the village. Kami knows he chased him all over the ninja world in his past life, and Sasuke did not want to repeat that part of his past life.

"Fine, go get Tsunade and we'll finish this discussion later" Sasuke promised.

Naruto looked pleased enough with this and walked out of the door with Jiraiya.

Now that it seemed like everything had resolved itself everyone began to leave the Uchiha District.

Haku and Zabuza left to go see Naruto and Jiraiya off, much to the displeasure of Zabuza. Hanare pulled Kakashi out of the door mentioning something about a date that she didn't want him to be late for. Neji and Sakura left too, but not before Neji gave one last glare in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke flinched slightly at the intensity of the glare. He was starting to understand why the Hyuuga clan was so feared. Those ghostly white eyes glaring at you is definitely unnerving even for the most hardened shinobi. They still didn't scare him though.

A few minutes passed before Sasuke turned to Hinata with a guilty look on his face.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what came over me to make me ask you to come with me. You don't have too if you don't want too Hinata; you know that right?" Sasuke asked dropping his barriers. This was a side of him that only Hinata had seen.

Hinata nodded. Of course she knew that, but the look that was in eyes when he had asked her made her say yes. She knew that he needed her. It was a very dumb idea and Hinata knew that if anything went wrong then they'd be in a very dangerous situation with one of the most powerful shinobi to come out of the Hidden Leaf Village, but despite that she was willing to go with Sasuke if he needed her too.

"Sasuke-kun I saw the look in your eyes. I'm not going to say no when you clearly wanted me to go with you" Hinata said.

Sasuke smiled at her, but something that Neji said was still bothering him.

"Thank you, but don't you care about being the Heiress of your clan?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata shrugged.

"I never really cared too much about being the Heiress of the clan. I always viewed it as a responsibility that I have, but Hanabi is more than capable of leading the clan and if Neji wasn't born a branch member then he'd be the clan head because he was born first. Too bad he's has the cursed seal so the elders would never allow it" Hinata said.

Sasuke had forgotten about the cursed seals that the branch family had to deal with. Sasuke didn't like the fact that his best friend, besides Naruto (who is more like a brother anyway), has to deal with something like that.

"What if we can find a way to remove the seal?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't think that something like that exists, and if it does the clan elders would never approve of it" Hinata said sadly.

"But they only give advice, they don't actually make the decisions. You're father does and I'm sure that he would love to remove the seal from Hizashi besides if they disagree, they'll have to deal with me" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Hinata shook her head. She didn't know what she was going to do with Sasuke.

"What I have told you about threatening my family? Besides, before it comes to that we'll have to find a way to remove the seals... if it even exists" Hinata said.

"If anyone has the the knowledge on clan techniques it's Orochimaru. We'll be sure to search his collection of scrolls on Clans with Kekkei Genkai while we're in the sound village" Sasuke said.

Hinata looks at Sasuke in confusion.

"How did you know that he has a collection of scrolls on clans with Kekkei Genkai?" Hinata asked. Sasuke's eyes widened.

' _ **Dammit! I can't believe that I slipped up and said something like that. Think Sasuke how will I be able to explain myself'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at Hinata.

He racked his brain for an excuse before one came to him.

"He told me himself when I faced him during the Chunin Exams in the Forest Of Death. He used it as leverage trying to get me to willing come to him, as well as promising me to be his pupil" Sasuke said.

Hinata wasn't sure if Sasuke was telling her the full proof but she didn't have much time to think about it as she felt that they were being watched.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and spoke.

"Show yourselves, I know you're here. Come out now" Hinata said glaring at the window.

"You heard the Lady. Don't keep us waiting" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Then 5 sound ninja crashed through the window and stood in front of Sasuke and Hinata. There was a woman with long red hair, a man with 4 arms, a man with 2 heads, a large hulking man, and a man with white hair and eye shadow.

"I am Kimimaro and they are Tayuya, Kidomaru, Jirobo and Sakon. We were sent by Lord Orochimaru to escort you to the Sound Village" Kimimaro said.

"I'm not going to go right now, but I will go soon. Also, I'll be bringing Hinata with me when I decide to come is that understood?" Sasuke said.

"You don't get to decide when you come and who comes with you. Lord Orochimaru told us to bring you now so that's what we're going to do regardless of what you say" Tayuya said basically growling at Sasuke.

"Is that so... well Tayuya are you going to **make** me come now?" Sasuke asked activating his Sharingan. Hinata was already by his side with her Byakugan activated.

"Well if thats the way you want to handle this then who are we to not give you what you want" Kidomaru said as he and the rest of the Sound Four went into stage 1 of their cursed mark.

Kimimaro also activated stage one of his curse mark before he delivered his orders.

"Make sure you don't kill Lord Orochimaru's next vessel, but the girl can die" Kimimaro said.

"Hn. If any of you touch her, I'll kill you" Sasuke said as his Sharingan glowed a dangerous red color.

No more words were exchanged as the Sound Ninja charged and attacked Sasuke and Hinata.

XxXxXx

Naruto was hurt. He and Jiraiya had found Tsunade, but she had no interest in being Hokage, and she had also tried to kill his dreams about being Hokage.

Naruto had challenged her to fight unprepared to face her monster strength, but she defeated him with one finger while she was probably half drunk; not that he would ever admit that fact.

It turned out that she had some sort of deal with Orochimaru to heal his arms, but she had changed her mind and attacked him which resulted in the situation they were in now.

Tsunade was out of commission because of the blood on her, and Jiraiya was drugged, but still fighting Orochimaru. Kabuto had defeated Tsunade's pupil Shizune, so that left Naruto to deal with the guy that helped them during the Chunin Exams.

Naruto had taken a hit that was aimed for Tsunade, and he now had blood leaking from his forehead, but he was smirking.

" **You can beat him brat! Just avoid getting hit by his medical ninjutsu"** Kurama said remembering when Kabuto almost killed Naruto the last time this fight happened.

"Don't worry. I have this under control. Watch how cool I look when I defeat him" Naruto replied mentally to Kurama before addressing Kabuto.

"You should've stayed on our side Kabuto, because if you had then I wouldn't have to kick your ass now" Naruto said.

"You Idiot I've never been on your side, I was scouting for Lord Orochimaru, and you will never be able to 'kick my ass'. You're not strong enough. Not like Sasuke" Kabuto said holding back a laugh.

Naruto growled at the mention of his best friend. He knew that these were the guys that Sasuke was planning on spending the next 2 years training with, and the fact angered him. He grabbed Kabuto's arm in his steely grip as a Shadow clone appeared next to him.

"If that's the case then you'll have no problem withstanding my new technique" Naruto said as his clone began to move its hand quickly over his outstretched hand.

Soon an orb of blue energy could be seen. Kabuto's eyes widened when he saw the technique and knew that he would be in trouble if he let it hit him, but no matter how hard he pulled he couldn't break out of Naruto's grip. He looked at Naruto as he slammed the blue orb into his stomach.

" **RASENGAN."**

The impact sent Kabuto flying to a nearby boulder, but not before his hand brushed Naruto's chest sending destructive medical chakra into his heart.

" **DAMN IT NARUTO! I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET HIM DO THAT"** Kurama shouted beginning to heal Naruto but he received no response as Naruto was unconscious.

"NARUTO" Jiraiya shouted as he tried to go check on his Godson only to be intercepted by Orochimaru.

"I'll admit the nine tails vessel did better than I originally thought he would, but he was still no match for Kabuto."

"Move" Jiraiya commanded still trying to overcome the effects of the drug.

"Only if you can make me" Orochimaru replied as the two began their fight once again.

Tsunade crawled over to Naruto's still form and began to try to heal him, she had tears in her eyes because Naruto's drive and determination reminded her of both her little brother and her former lover. She wasn't going to sit by and let him die too.

"One more time. I'll let myself believe one more time" Tsunade whispered as she took of her necklace and placed it around Naruto's neck before she continued to heal him.

After Kabuto recovered from Naruto's Rasengan he walked over to Tsunade.

"There's no hope for him. I hit his heart, so why waste your chakra trying to heal a dead man" Kabuto asked with a smirk on his face.

His smirk disappeared when he saw a red aura begin to surround Naruto's still body. Soon after that Naruto opened his eyes and got up.

"Thanks for healing me Granny Tsunade. Now who was a dead man Kabuto?" Naruto asked as he cracked his knuckles. His eyes were red and he had fangs instead of teeth, but more importantly his chakra was starting to swell.

Kabuto was unable to respond or even move as Naruto punched him in the face sending the medic flying into Orochimaru who was too preoccupied with Jiraiya to dodge the medic's body flying towards him.

Orochimaru and Kabuto looked up to see Jiraiya and Naruto glaring down at them, but they weren't the only ones. Tsunade had found new resolve and walked towards Orochimaru and Kabuto with black marks spreading across her body. They looked up in fear as Tsunade spoke.

"I've decided to become the 5th Hokage and my first official action as Hokage is to get rid of rouge ninja Orochimaru and his lackey" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles.

Orochimaru didn't like the situation he was currently in. Jiraiya looked like the effects of the drug were wearing off, Naruto had the 9 tails aura around him, and Tsunade had her Mitotic Regeneration seal released. Even Orochimaru wasn't foolish enough to think he could win this fight. At the very least Kabuto would die, so it was time to retreat.

"It's unfortunate that we couldn't reach an agreement Tsunade, but I've decided to leave you alive. The next time we meet I won't be so generous and remember I killed the last Hokage the leaf had" Orochimaru said with a smirk as he sank into the ground. Kabuto gave some parting words before he too disappeared in a puff of smoke.

When they were sure that Orochimaru and Kabuto was gone Jiraiya turned to Tsunade with a smirk on his face.

"So you've decided to be the Hokage huh? What changed your mind?" Jiraiya asked his former teammate.

"I owe it to Dan and Nawaki be Hokage since they couldn't be, and a certain annoying blond haired ninja made me realize that" Tsunade said looking at Naruto.

"No problem Granny. I'm always here to help" Naruto said unaware of the vein on Tsunade's forehead.

"Stop calling me that!" She said while punching him sending him flying.

Ignoring his hurt pupil, Jiraiya addressed Tsunade again.

"I'm glad you did because I need to promise me that you'll send these two teenagers on an S-class mission" Jiraiya said seriously.

Tsunade's eyes widened, but she nodded.

"I promise, now tell me what the mission is."

When Jiraiya told her what the mission was her eyes widened even more, and she was now worried about assigning the mission. However, she had already promised so she'll do it.

' _ **I just hope that these two kids can handle it'**_ Tsunade thought to herself.

XxXxXx

Sakon, Kidomaru, and Jirobo were all motionless laying on ground in the living room while Kimimaro is tied up in a chair with all his chakra points blocked. Tayuya was on the ground near the rest of the Sound Four, but she had a gaping hole in her chest where her heart once was.

Hinata had bruises all over her body and a black eye that she was currently healing. Sasuke was physically fine, but still had an angry look on his face.

Kimimaro looked around the room casually before giving Sasuke a sincere smile. The smile unnerved both Hinata and Sasuke although the latter just twitched to show his unease.

"You truly are a powerful warrior. I can see now why Lord Orochimaru has chosen you as his ideal vessel. He will be nearly unstoppable with your body and his intellect. It is an honor to have battled you" Kimimaro said, but he wasn't done there. He let his eyes rest on Hinata.

"You fought valiantly as well against the Sound Villages top ninjas, and I noticed that after Tayuya gave you that black eye; the Uchiha went berserk and tore her heart out. You are capable of controlling the vessel probably better than even Lord Orochimaru himself. You will be a great asset to the Sound Village as well" Kimimaro finished with a smile before coughing up a bit of blood.

"So when you go back you'll tell Orochimaru that I'm coming on my own, and that I'm bringing Hinata with me?" Sasuke asked the white haired nin.

Kimimaro nodded. Sasuke looked at the man for a moment before deciding that he was trustworthy enough to let go. Hinata untied Kimimaro who nodded in thanks before gathering the unconscious bodies of the Sakon, Kidomaru, and Jirobo before looking at the dead form of Tayuya.

"Do you mind if I take her body and dispose of it?" Kimimaro asked.

Sasuke simply shook his head, so Kimimaro grabbed Tayuya's body as well. He headed towards the door, but before he walked out he spoke to Sasuke.

"This will quite possibly be the last time we will ever meet. I don't have much time left, and I was originally supposed to be Orochimaru's next vessel, but I'm glad that it's you. You are definitely the stronger warrior and therefore more worthy than me. Goodbye, Sasuke Uchiha" Kimimaro said before the flickered off leaving Sasuke and Hinata alone again.

Hinata had her Byakugan activated let her eyes follow Kimimaro until he was far away from the village. When she was sure they were safe she deactivated her Byakugan and let her guard down before glaring at Sasuke.

"Did you have to kill her Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

"I warned them all that if they touched you then I'd kill them. She not only touched you, but she blacked your eye and gave you bruises. It was justified" Sasuke said defending himself.

"I've already healed all the wounds she gave me, and you used your Chidori to rip out her heart!" Hinata said with a look of disgust on her face.

"It was the quickest way to do it" Sasuke said walking towards Hinata and attempting to grab her shoulder, but she dodged his hand.

"Don't touch me with all that blood on your hands! Go take a shower and wash off. I'll do the same and see you later" Hinata said as she walked out the door and closed it behind her.

' _ **If only she knew how much blood I actually have on my hands'**_ Sasuke thought to himself with a smirk before doing what he was told and taking a shower.

XxXxXx

A week later everyone was crowded by the gates. Tsunade was officially sworn in as Hokage and had assigned the S-rank mission to Sasuke and Hinata just as she promised Jiraiya.

Sasuke and Hinata were crowded by their friends and family who were all determined to see them off.

"Do Hinata and Sasuke really have to be gone for 2 whole years?" Hanabi asked with tears in her eyes. Hiashi nodded grimly but stayed quiet. Hizashi noticed this and answered for his brother.

"I still don't know why Lady Hokage thought it would be wise to send two teenagers on an S-class mission but there is little that we can do about it."

Hanabi looked at her father and uncle with a frown on her face. She understood that S-rank missions were a big deal and she was proud that her sister and future brother in law were chosen for it. She just didn't like that they had to be gone for 2 years.

Hinata looked around and noticed that Hanabi was upset so she left Kiba and Shino and went to talk to her.

"Don't be upset Hanabi. These two years will past before you know it, and we'll be back" Hinata said trying to reassure her little sister.

"I know. I'm just upset that I have to spend the next two years with nobody fun to talk to. You and Sasuke are the only people that's a challenge to tease. Neji-nii is too easy" Hanabi said trying to smile, but Hinata saw through her ruse. Hinata grabbed her sister and hugged her.

Hiashi watched his two daughters for a moment before walking over to Sasuke, who was talking to Kakashi, Neji and Naruto.

"Sasuke I want a word with you for a moment" Hiashi said walking away into a alley so that they could have privacy.

Sasuke excused himself from his friends, and followed Hiashi into the alley, but as soon as he entered he was grabbed by his collar and slammed into the wall. Sasuke's Sharingan activated instantly, but it was met with Hiashi's Byakugan.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear Uchiha. Hinata is my first daughter and although I don't show it, I do care greatly for her. I don't know what this mission entails but I do know that no matter what happens she better make it back here safely. You are her betrothed so I trust you to keep her away from harm, but if you don't I will castrate you and personally ensure that the Uchiha Clan goes extinct. Do I make myself clear" Hiashi warned with Byakugan glaring through him.

Sasuke had never been scared of a Hyuuga before, but Hiashi's threat left chills spreading through Sasuke's body. Sasuke couldn't do anything but nod at Hiashi's threat.

Satisfied Hiashi dropped Sasuke and not a moment too soon as Hinata rounded the corner.

"There you guys are. Come on Sasuke we have to leave soon" Hinata said as she bowed at her father and then grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him away from the alley towards the entrance.

Hiashi looked at the two walk away before returning to Hizashi who looked at his brother.

"Did you give him the warning?" Hizashi asked.

"Of course. The message as been received, he'll protect her with his life" Hiashi said walking back towards the Hyuuga Compound.

Hizashi smiled and nodded his head before he and Hiashi left the area.

Hinata and Sasuke were at the entrance to the village as their friends screamed their goodbyes.

"Sasuke you better watch out for Hinata. That's our teammate" Kiba said and Akamaru barked to show his agreement.

Shino didn't say anything but he sent Hinata and Sasuke guard beetles to watch over them and warn him if they were in danger.

"Hinata remember everything I taught you. Oh and if you get the chance can you say hi to my grandmother for me" Kurenai said from her position next to Asuma who just waved.

Hinata smiled at her teammates and sensei assuring them that everything will be alright, and she told Kurenai that she would try to visit her on the way back.

The Ino-Shika-Cho combination didn't really say much and just waved like their sensei was doing.

Rock Lee and Gai were in tears a screaming something about the power of youth getting them through this while Tenten shook her head at her teammates antics.

Zabuza and Haku didn't say anything, but they both there to give their support.

Sakura wished them luck on their journey, while Neji glared at Sasuke before speaking.

"You better take care of Hinata-sama Uchiha, and also you better be back in two years time" Neji said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless.

"See you in two years you guys. Hinata make sure you take care of Sasuke because I don't trust him to take care of himself" Kakashi said ignoring the glare from Sasuke. Hanare was waving next to him, and when Kakashi was sure that she wasn't paying attention he threw a book at Sasuke, who caught it and looked at it in confusion.

Kakashi mentioned for him to keep quiet, so Sasuke rolled his eyes and put the book in his backpack, before Naruto walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Alright Bastard lets get some things straight. You better not die and you better keep Hina-chan alive too. If you two don't come back in two years I will personally hunt you down and bring you back myself" Naruto said.

' _ **Oh I know. You've chased me enough for both lifetimes'**_ Sasuke thought as sweat dropped down his forehead.

"Hey answer me. I want your word that you two will come back" Naruto said grabbing Sasuke's shoulders tighter.

Sasuke winced a little at the pressure, but he nodded.

"You had my word that we will come back loser, and that Hinata will be safe" Sasuke said in his normal deadpanned voice.

Naruto loosened his grip and smiled at his best friend. There was also the challenging aura that surrounded the two friends.

"When you get back lets have a match to see who's stronger" Naruto said with his smile turning into a smirk.

"Of course. I'll always be up for reminding you of who's superior" Sasuke replied with a smirk of his own.

With that being said Naruto released Sasuke's shoulder completely.

"Alright everyone its time that we leave. See you in 2 years" Sasuke said grabbing Hinata's hand and walking away before anyone could say anything else. Neither looking back as they began their trip towards the Sound Village leaving their friends behind.

XxXxXx

A few weeks later Sasuke and Hinata arrived at the borders of the Sound Village and were escorted by a sound nin straight to Orochimaru's office. When they arrived there they noticed that Orochimaru had bandages all over his body and that Kabuto was practically glued to his side. Orochimaru smiled through his bandages at them.

"When my best ninja came back wounded and telling me that you'd be bringing a guest I'd never expected it to be a Hyuuga. I'm pleasantly surprised by this development" Orochimaru said.

"She stays with me, and anyone who touches her dies" Sasuke deadpanned as he activated his Sharingan and gently nudged Hinata behind him.

Orochimaru noticed this and smiled even wider though they couldn't tell through the bandages.

"Of course Sasuke-kun, but I would like to know her name and what he goal is, so that I can know how to properly train her" Orochimaru said.

Hinata moved from behind Sasuke and bowed politely much to the surprise of both Sasuke and Orochimaru.

"I am Hinata Hyuuga and I want to be a medical ninja. Please train me Orochimaru-sama" Hinata asked.

' _ **She's really into the act. She would've fooled me if I didn't know any better'**_ Sasuke thought as he looked at Hinata.

"Ahh it's nice to meet you Hinata-chan and I know little about Medical Ninjutsu, so I won't be able to mentor you personally. Instead Kabuto will teach you everything he knows" Orochimaru said. Kabuto gave Hinata a smile and slight bow as Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

Sasuke didn't know how he felt about that, but he did know that it made since that Kabuto taught Hinata because of her desire to be a medical ninja. Sasuke may not like Kabuto, but he knew that besides Tsunade and maybe Sakura, Kabuto was the best medic ninja he'd ever met.

"Well then now that introductions are out of the way lets begin. Sasuke head out to the training grounds, and Kabuto take Hinata into the labs" Orochimaru ordered.

' _ **And so training begins'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he did as he was told. These 2 years will not be wasted.

 **TBC**

 **Viola (Guest)- Orochimaru definitely noticed something this chapter and team taka will be involved in the story at some point. Zabuza will still have the Executioner's blade but I assure you Suigetsu will still be badass**

 **Nevvy- I'm glad you liked the brothers reunion and the fact that Hinata is in the Sound Village with Sasuke is very risky, but you'll see what affect she has on Orochimaru and Kabuto soon enough, and Tsunade knows about the mission, but she's not aware of what Danzō has done as of yet**

 **Zigmas- Thank you for seeing what I was trying to convey last chapter. Hinata has always been a character that cared about everyone else over herself and that's why I think she'd be better for Sasuke. Even if we differ in ships I'm grateful for your review**

 **Itachi's Queen- I'm glad that you liked the way that I've written Itachi! If I can satisfy his queen then everyone else should be satisfied as well lol. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too**

 **Hobo ghost- You were partially right lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter**

 **AnonGuest0- thank you for your criticism. I'll try my best to improve on that as the story progresses and I'm glad you like it. I guarantee that team Taka will be involved in this story and unfortunately waifu Hinata is a long ways away**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter**

 **Pro-Uchiha- I agree with you completely. Hinata is perfect for Sasuke because she always thinks of others. Sasuke hasn't been exposed to that kind of female in canon**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Orochimaru gave a hint of what he's thinking this chapter if you noticed it. And to answer your question it'll be an arc later in the story. Sorry I can't really spoil it now, as well as what's going to happen with the curse seal**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- Wow.. That's actually a good idea too and Tsunade is definitely more trustworthy than Orochimaru. If I didn't have the chapter already written then I probably would've used that. You've brought up a lot of interesting plot points that I overlooked. Thank you for your review and I hope that you liked this chapter too**

 **Kiss2lips- thank you so much and the time skip is coming**

 **Next Chapter is the Timeskip with flashbacks of Training sequences. Until next time - Dishon 3**


	16. 2 Years Later

**Chapter 16**

2 years had passed since Sasuke and Hinata had began their 'mission' and infiltrated the Sound Village to train with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Both Sasuke and Hinata were now 16 years old and had gone through many changes. The most important of which is that they were both vastly more powerful than they had been before they arrived.

Sasuke had trained with Orochimaru day in and day out since he had arrived, and after the operation to switch his eyes with Itachi's, the threat of blindness was gone, so he fought the Sannin at full power which only resulted in him getting stronger.

That day had a lot of events transpire that Sasuke didn't see coming, but he couldn't be happier with the results. Orochimaru had recently taken another vessel days ago, so he didn't have to worry about killing the Sannin.

As Sasuke was walking threw the hallways he thought back to the day of the operation, when everything happened.

 **Flashback (One Year Ago)**

Sasuke and Orochimaru were training their Kenjutsu. A few months ago Orochimaru had given Sasuke the Sword of Kusanagi. Sasuke could barely contain his satisfaction when his precious sword was given to him, and even though it was the same sword that Madara had once used to kill him, Sasuke was happy to wield it once more.

After giving Sasuke the sword Orochimaru wasted no time in teaching him how to use it. He was pleasantly surprised when Sasuke turned out to already be a great swordsman.

' _ **This boy will be my ultimate vessel. He's so powerful and skilled yet he's only 15 years of age. I have no doubt that I'd be unstoppable once I obtain his body. Not even the Akatsuki will be able to stand in my way'**_ Orochimaru thought with a smirk as he parried one of Sasuke's strikes and dodged another one.

"Come now Sasuke-kun, you can't really expect to be able to hit me with sloppy and predictable attacks like that do you?" Orochimaru taunted hoping to get Sasuke more motivated.

Sasuke growled and channeled lightning through his sword causing Orochimaru's eyes to widen.

' _ **Splendid!'**_ Orochimaru thought as he dodged a strike only to get burned when the lightning tip of Sasuke's blade grazed his shoulder.

Orochimaru smiled in satisfaction but just when he was beginning to get serious, both he and Sasuke felt large chakra signatures approaching them. Orochimaru tensed when he realized who they were.

Soon Kabuto and Hinata came out with some of the stronger members of the Sound Village to meet these large Chakra signatures.

Then Kisame and Itachi appeared in front of them. Itachi had a his usual stoic appearance while Kisame had a sinister smirk on his face.

"Lord Orochimaru who are these 2? They seem very powerful" Kabuto asked while getting into his defensive stance.

"The big blue one with the shark like features is Kisame Hoshigaki, and the other one is Sasuke's older brother Itachi Uchiha. They are both extremely powerful members of the Akatsuki so do not engage until I give the order or else you will die" Orochimaru said.

"When we arrived here I wasn't expecting a fight, but if that's what you guys wanna do I'd be happy to oblige you" Kisame said taking Samehada out of its holder and pointed it towards the Sound nin making them all tense except for Sasuke and Hinata.

"Kisame stand down, you know we aren't here for a fight. Orochimaru we wish to speak with you" Itachi said eyes flickering to his brother and Hinata before returning to the Sannin.

"You aren't here on the orders of Pein?" Orochimaru asked.

"No now send your ninja away so that we can talk. All of them will leave except for Sasuke and Hinata" Itachi said.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he had many questions swarm through his head. What did Itachi want with him? Were he and Sasuke going to fight now? How did he know Hinata?

All of these thoughts were on his mind as he did as Itachi asked and dismissed his ninja except for Sasuke, Hinata and Kabuto. Itachi raised his eyebrow at the silver haired shinobi.

"He is neither Sasuke nor Hinata so why is he still here Orochimaru?" Itachi asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Kabuto is my 2nd in command so anything you say to me, you can say to him as well. Is that a problem Itachi-kun?" Orochimaru asked in a voice laced with false sweetness. Itachi inwardly grimaced at Orochimaru. He still didn't trust the man, but he believed in Sasuke's plan.

"Not at all. I am here for Sasuke's eyes" Itachi said.

Orochimaru tensed again and looked at Sasuke, but when he saw the him he was shocked. Sasuke was smirking.

"Pardon me? I don't think I'm understanding what's going on here" Orochimaru said now looking at Sasuke expecting answers.

When he noticed that Orochimaru was looking at him, Sasuke shrugged and explained the situation to him.

"Itachi and I need to switch eyes in order to avoid going blind. Have Kabuto perform the operation and have him cure Itachi of his disease while he's at it. Don't try any treachery or you'll regret it" Sasuke said with his emotionless voice with his Sharingan activating. The threat lingering in the air.

"Sasuke-kun I'm hurt in your lack of faith in me, but I'm still confused. Didn't your brother massacre your clan? I'd think that you'd want kill him to get your revenge" Orochimaru said.

"Hn. I know the truth behind the massacre, so I know who's really deserving of my wrath. Just do the operation Orochimaru" Sasuke said.

' _ **Interesting it seems as though Sasuke has found out about Danzō's orders. I slightly pity the man and it'll be unfortunate to lose the resources that he supplies me... but his death is a small price to pay for the ultimate vessel'**_ Orochimaru thought.

"Of course Sasuke-kun. Come with me, we'll perform the eye transfer at once and I don't know what disease Itachi-kun has, but I'll have Kabuto diagnose him and begin the treatment accordingly" Orochimaru said.

"We'll be there in a minute. I just want to talk to my brother for a moment" Sasuke said.

Orochimaru nodded in understanding before walking towards the medical part of his hideout with Kabuto following him with no words with all eyes on the two.

XxXxXx

When they were out of sight, Hinata smiled at Itachi and gave him a hug and waving at Kisame who smirked at her.

"It's nice to see you too Hinata. I assume Sasuke has been taking care of you?" Itachi asked patting her head. Even though he asked the question, Itachi was certain that Sasuke had.

"Well we hardly see each other during the day because we are both preoccupied with our own training, but we share the same room and we talk for hours sometimes while we're in bed before we go to sleep. He's also thoroughly threatened every male in the Sound Village and warned them to stay away from me" Hinata said suppressing a giggle.

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the part about them sleeping together and Kisame began to chuckle.

"Wow Sasuke, you've been sleeping with Hinata for the whole year? Should Itachi be expecting a nephew or niece soon?" Kisame asked causing both Sasuke and Hinata to blush a deep red color which only made Kisame laugh harder at the teenagers.

"I-It's not l-like t-that, we h-haven't" Hinata said stuttering for the first time in a long time.

"What Hinata is trying to say is that we've slept together, but we haven't _**slept**_ together" Sasuke said once he recovered from Kisame's comment.

"Is that so? You must take a lot of cold showers huh Sasuke?" Kisame asked.

"He has been taking cold showers often recently, and they've been longer than they used to be. What does that mean? What do you do in the shower Sasuke, and why do you use cold water?" Hinata asked with a innocent confused look on her face, but the blush was still on her face, making Kisame laugh more.

"Why don't you tell her Sasuke? I'm sure she wants to know" Kisame asked with a sharp toothed smirk.

Sasuke just opted to stay quiet and glare at Kisame which was scary enough, but Kisame sweat dropped when he noticed that Sasuke wasn't the only Uchiha who was glaring at him.

"Kisame don't tease them like that you're embarrassing Hinata and I'm sure Sasuke knows better than to impregnate my future sister in law before our enemies have all been defeated... also they're only 15! That's far too young for Sex" Itachi said scolding his partner.

Hinata looked like she was going to faint and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Deciding that he's had enough of this conversation Sasuke addressed his brother.

"Let's stop talking about this and get this operation over with. Kisame, Hinata, I trust that you'll be watching them to make sure that they don't try anything funny with our Sharingan" Sasuke said looking at Kisame and Hinata who nodded in affirmation.

Sasuke smiled and looked at his older brother.

"Let's go" Sasuke said.

And with that the 4 headed to the medical section of the hideout to get their operation unaware of the figure that was watching his every move.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Itachi were both on exam tables with cloth wrapped tightly around their eyes. Sasuke was sitting upright with Hinata sitting next to him while Itachi was laying down so Kabuto could examine him.

Kabuto had finished the transfer of the brother's eyes a few hours ago and was currently scanning Itachi's body for his illness. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a huge tumor located near Itachi's lung. Based of the size and the looks of it; Kabuto could tell that it had been there for years and by all means Itachi should be dead by now.

' _ **How is he alive!? Just how strong is his will to be able to keep himself alive for so long'**_ Kabuto thought as he looked at Itachi in amazement.

Looking at the tumor Kabuto knew that he would need help to safely remove it.

"Well I found out what the problem is, Itachi-san has a giant tumor growing on his lung" Kabuto announced.

Sasuke's mouth twitched signifying that he had heard Kabuto.

"So can you remove it?" Sasuke asked.

Kabuto nodded, but then he realized that Sasuke and Itachi couldn't see him nod.

"Yes its possible... but I'll need Hinata-kun's help with the Operation" Kabuto said.

Hinata was surprised, but made a determined face to show that she was ready to help wherever she was needed. She got up and walked over to Kabuto.

"What do you need me to do Kabuto-sensei?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke inwardly cringed. It's been a year and it was still weird to hear Hinata call Kabuto her sensei, but she was determined to show him the proper respect even though both he and Kabuto told her that she didn't have too.

Kabuto gave Hinata instructions and the two began to operate on Itachi to remove the tumor and hours later they were finally finished. Hinata wiped the sweat off her forehead and sent a bright smile at Sasuke that he couldn't see, but he could feel it.

"Itachi-kun is tumor free now Sasuke-kun! He'll be okay now" Hinata said excitedly and Sasuke couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.

Orochimaru looked at the scene with a contemplative look. This was an interesting situation for him. Sasuke was in his most vulnerable state currently and he was sure that he could probably get to him before Kisame could stop him. He had wanted to place a curse seal on Sasuke, so that in the event that he tried to kill him, a piece of him would still be alive.

Thinking it over for a moment Orochimaru decided that he would take the chance and try to bite Sasuke's neck and give him the cursed seal now. He quickly sent a small burst of chakra in Kisame's direction, distracting the man before extending his neck at Sasuke with his fangs protruding out of his mouth.

Hinata's eyes widened when she saw this, but she knew that she wouldn't make it in time to save Sasuke, so she had no choice but to use a technique that she hadn't fully mastered.

" **8 Trigams Air Palm"** Hinata said as she sent a small chakra blast towards Sasuke who had stiffened when he felt Chakra coming towards him.

Her technique slammed into Sasuke's side locking up his chakra points and knocking him on the to floor, out of the Sannin's path.

' _ **Damn that Hyuuga girl. Now I'll be attacked and I'm not 100% sure that I can defeat Kisame'**_ Orochimaru thought as he prepared himself to slam into the wall, but just before he made contact he saw Zetsu phasing through the wall completely unaware.

Orochimaru smirked at his luck and bit into the white side of Zetsu who's black half barely managed to liquify in time to avoid the same fate as his white counterpart. Black Zetsu slipped out of room unnoticed and White Zetsu was given the cursed seal by Orochimaru.

When the ritual was complete Orochimaru, looked at the unconscious Zetsu with amazement. He was sure that he felt Senju chakra in white Zetsu's body and that wasn't the best part. The bite mark that he gave Zetsu was already starting to heal on his flesh even though he was unconscious.

Orochimaru smirked as his discovery and he knew that when the time came a year from now Zetsu would make possibly a even better vessel than Sasuke, because with Zetsu's body there was a possibility that he'd be achieving his dream of being immortal. Orochimaru was about to voice his satisfaction when something pinned him to the wall. Orochimaru looked down right into the narrowed eyes of Kisame.

"Just what do you think you were doing attacking Sasuke like that Snake" Kisame said unsheathing Samehada and pointing his sword at Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked around to see that a water clone had already pinned Kabuto to the ground to prevent the medic nin from helping.

Orochimaru was in rush to come up with a good excuse as to why he suddenly lashed out like that, and it was hard to think with Samehada uncomfortably close to his neck. He could feel his chakra draining slowly, then he remembered the body of Zetsu.

"As you can see by the immobile body of Zetsu a few feet away from us I was not attacking Sasuke-kun. I was saving him because as we both know, Zetsu is an expert at silent assassination" Orochimaru said, however Kisame was not convinced.

"If that was the case then why were heading towards Sasuke?" Kisame asked tightening his grip on Orochimaru's collar.

"Simple Kisame, I knew that Hinata-chan would get Sasuke out of the way in time. Don't you know that those two always look out for each other? She even sent an unperfected technique at him to move him out of my attack" Orochimaru said with certainty trying to convince Kisame.

Kisame thought over what Orochimaru had said and decided that he would simply ask Hinata and let her make the decision.

"Hinata do you believe him? Did you know that he wasn't attacking Sasuke?" Kisame asked.

Hinata was at Sasuke's side apologizing profusely while unblocking his chakra points, when she heard that Kisame had asked her a question, she began to think.

Over the past year Orochimaru had been creepy at best, but he hadn't tried to do anything to Sasuke. She knew that he was plotting to take his body, but Sasuke had told her that he wouldn't try that for at least another year, and Hinata trusted Sasuke so she believed that Orochimaru might actually have been telling the truth. She looked into Orochimaru's eyes and responded.

"We've been here for a year and he hasn't tried anything to threaten me or Sasuke-kun, so I believe that he actually trusted in my ability to get Sasuke-kun out of harms way."

With that being said Kisame dropped Orochimaru and dispelled the water clone holding Kabuto with a grimace on his face. Orochimaru smoothed out his clothes and smirked at Kisame. The swordsman ignored the smirk and looked at Zetsu for a moment in contemplation before he noticed something.

"Hey didn't Zetsu use to have a black half too?" Kisame asked as he stared at the pale white ninja.

"It melted off of him right after I bit him, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem" Orochimaru responded.

"So what do you plan on doing with Zetsu's body?" Kisame asked.

"I made an amazing discovery, so I'll contain him and use him as my next vessel" Orochimaru said before ordering Kabuto to put Chakra cuffs on Zetsu and lock him away.

Hinata's and Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise when then heard what Orochimaru had said, even though no one could see Sasuke's eyes. Hinata was hopeful, but Sasuke was hesitant to believe him.

"Are you serious Orochimaru? So what are your plans for me then?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru made a shocked look when he realized that Sasuke knew that he had planned to make him his vessel, but Orochimaru still wanted to feign his innocence.

"What do you mean Sasuke-kun? You are my pupil and my legacy; The one person that I'd want to carry on my will if I am unable to gain immortality for myself" Orochimaru said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes under the cloth. He knew the truth, but he was glad that he didn't have to worry about killing Orochimaru when he tried to take over his body. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized that it also meant that Kabuto likely wouldn't use Edo Tensai to fight in the war.

Sasuke had changed the past events so much that he wasn't even sure if there would be a war, but he didn't want to be that optimistic. It just wasn't his style.

In any case Sasuke's plan had went a whole lot smoother than he imagined. He and Itachi had successfully switched eyes and Orochimaru had found another vessel to use when the time came. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at his luck, but unbeknownst to him this day made him a target.

XxXxXx

Black goo materialized in a cave miles away in the Hidden Rain Village. Black Zetsu had not been expecting Orochimaru to be there the moment he phased through the wall. He had barely managed to pull himself off of the White Zetsu he attached himself to before Orochimaru gave him the cursed seal.

Black Zetsu wasn't necessarily worried that Orochimaru had the White Zetsu body because he could get another one at any time, he was worried about the fact that unless someone kills him, Orochimaru will be essentially immortal with that body. He'd potentially be a pest that Black Zetsu wouldn't want to interfere with his plans. Black Zetsu was pulled out of his thoughts when a deep masculine voice spoke.

"Zetsu, where have you been and what happened to White Zetsu."

"We followed Itachi and Kisame to the Sound Village in hopes that Itachi and Sasuke were going to fight, but they actually went to transfer each other's eyes so that they'd have the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and apparently Itachi is also getting treated for some type of disease. When I tried to enter the medical room I was attacked by Orochimaru and he managed to subdue the White Zetsu body that I was attached to, so I have come here to get a new one" Black Zetsu explained.

The other figure in the cave thought to himself for a moment.

' _ **Hmm interesting. If what Zetsu says is true then somehow Sasuke found out the truth behind the Uchiha Clan massacre, minus my involvement of course. That's a pity, I planned on using that knowledge to manipulate him later on, but oh well. The main thing is that now both Itachi and Sasuke have Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan's unlike me, so they won't go blind. If it wasn't for the Senju DNA inside me I would've gone blind years ago. If I manage to get them on my side then I'll no problem completing the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan'**_ The person thought to himself.

"Interesting turn of events. You get yourself attached to a White Zetsu and tell Pein and Konan that they need to start capturing the Jinchuuriki now" The man said while getting up and walking past Black Zetsu and towards the entrance of the cave.

"Understood, but what are you going to do?" Black Zetsu asked.

The man turned around and the only thing visible through his Orange Mask was a single Sharingan.

"I think that it's time that I talked to my little cousins, and make them see the light. If they refuse then... they die" he said said as he looked out of the cave.

' _ **This'll be quite the family reunion.'**_

 **End Flashback (Present Day)**

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts as he walked into Orochimaru's room noticing that as usual Kabuto was by his side, but he was surprised to see Hinata there with another man and woman that Sasuke knew all too well.

"Ahh glad you could make it Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru said with a smile.

Orochimaru was currently in bed wrapped in bandages as he adjusted to his new body. Despite that, the man couldn't have looked any more pleased than he currently did.

"What do you want Orochimaru?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"I'm sending you on a mission. I want you to go to Suna and protect the Kazekage" Orochimaru said.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the mission assigned to him. By this time Gaara would be the Kazekage, so Sasuke had no clue what he could need protection from. Sensing his students confusion, Orochimaru explained more.

"One of my resources have told me that the Akatsuki plan on sending two of its members to capture the Kazekage because he is the Jinchuuriki of the One Tail. Specifically, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Deidara of the Hidden Stone Village now listen closely while I tell you their abilities and weaknesses..." Orochimaru said.

Sasuke zoned out as he processed this information in silence. He had known that the Akatsuki were capturing the Tailed Beasts from the brief time he spent as a member in his past life, but he didn't know that they had went after Gaara.

' _ **Did this happen last time? It had too because the One Tail wasn't in Gaara when we met at the 5 Kage Summit, but how did he survive this last time if the Tailed Beast was removed from him?'**_ Sasuke thought to himself before he tuned back in to what Orochimaru was saying.

"...So I think that even you'd need help with them. Of course I'm sending Hinata-chan with you, and I'll let your other 2 teammates introduce themselves" Orochimaru said.

Sensing his opportunity to talk, the silver haired teenager spoke.

"I'm Suigetsu Hozuki, nice to finally meet the guy that everyone in the Sound is so afraid of. After this mission is over let's have a little sparring match to see if you're really as strong as I hear you are" Suigetsu said with a smirk.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but gave Suigetsu a small smirk back as the red haired teenager spoke up next.

"Ignore this Idiot Sasuke. I'm Karin Uzumaki and I'm a sensor and medic nin, so if you feel any pain all you have to do is bite me...Of course you can bite me anytime you want and anywhere" Karin said with a wink as she caressed Sasuke's exposed chest.

"Bad idea" Orochimaru whispered watching as Hinata activated her Byakugan.

Sasuke noticed a twitch in the corner of his eye and he was about to say something, but he never got the chance to as suddenly Karin was hit with an invisible chakra force that sent her slamming into a wall. Suigetsu looked at Hinata in surprise while Orochimaru and Kabuto just laughed.

"Oh dear, I guess we forgot to inform Karin-san that Sasuke-kun is off limits" Kabuto said as watched his pupil put her hand down and walk towards Karin.

"I thought it was common knowledge. They have been sharing the same room for the past 2 years" Orochimaru said.

Karin groaned as she noticed her chakra points were locked up and looked up to see lavender eyes with veins protruding around them glaring down at her. It felt as though Hinata was looking through her, and Karin couldn't help but tremble in fear.

"Karin I'm a nice person, so I can forgive a lot of things, but let me explain something to you. Don't you **ever** lay your hands on Sasuke-kun again unless you plan to heal him; Otherwise you'll have to answer to me" Hinata said as she deactivated her Byakugan and unblocked Karin's chakra points.

Karin got up furious and was about to say something when Sasuke interrupted her.

"Okay Orochimaru are there any other ninja that you can send. We are facing 2 Akatsuki members" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru thought for a moment. He figured that Sasuke had enough help, but he could understand the desire to have more insurance.

"I could send Kabuto with you, but that will incite Sasori's full wrath considering Kabuto is supposed to be his spy" Orochimaru said while thinking.

"No we don't need to put Kabuto-sensei in any unnecessary danger, besides he needs to stay here to guard you Orochimaru-sama because you're still weak from your body transfer" Hinata said.

' _ **Such a considerate girl'**_ both Orochimaru and Kabuto thought at the same time.

"Well there is one more person who's strong enough to take, but he's a little unstable. However, I think that Sasuke should be able to calm him down" Orochimaru said.

"Who is it?" Karin asked still glaring at Hinata who was simply ignoring her.

"Juugo" Kabuto said.

Both Suigetsu and Karin's eyes widened when they heard the name. Juugo was a monster and it was his blood that helped Orochimaru create the cursed seals. Suigetsu had even fought against him once and even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, if it wasn't for Orochimaru watching the fight and intervening; he'd probably would've died.

"Why is he unstable, and why do Sasuke-kun would be able calm him down?" Hinata asked.

"When I sent Kimimaro and the Sound Four to collect Sasuke-kun 2 years ago they came back beaten, and Tayuya was dead. I was furious at the time and I decided that I didn't need weak ninja like them serving me, so I killed the rest of the Sound 4 myself. Kimimaro was already sick and because of his loyalty, I let him spend the rest of the time that he had left with Juugo. Kimimaro made it a point to explain to Juugo that Sasuke-kun was his legacy. Juugo would never attack Kimimaro's legacy" Orochimaru said.

Hinata frowned a little when she heard that Orochimaru had killed the rest of the Sound 4, but didn't say anything and just nodded. Over the past 2 years, Hinata had been exposed to a lot of death and inappropriate things in the Sound Village, so it took a lot to get to her, but regardless of that she still kept her kind heart.

"He's located in the base located 2 miles Northwest of here. Now go, I want you in Suna at least 2 weeks before Deidara and Sasori get there" Orochimaru said.

Suigetsu and Karin nodded and walked out of the room. Hinata turned to leave, but Sasuke grabbed her waist keeping her still. Hinata turned back to look at Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't look at her. He just spoke to Orochimaru.

"Before we go, I want the all the information that you have on the Hyuuga Clan" Sasuke said.

"Hm? Why is that Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked with his confusion visible on his face.

"I promised Hinata-hime that I'd help her find a way to remove the cursed seal that plagues the branch family of her clan, and I know that if anyone has the information necessary for something like then it's you" Sasuke said.

Hinata looked at Sasuke and gave him a bright smile full of love and appreciation. She couldn't believe that Sasuke was doing this for her.

"I see. Kabuto get the scrolls that you hid under my bed earlier" Orochimaru said.

Sasuke and Hinata's eyes both widened as Kabuto pulled 10 scrolls from underneath Orochimaru's bed. 5 had Hyuuga Clan symbols on them and the other 5 had Uchiha Clan symbols on them.

"Why were they underneath your bed!? And why are there Uchiha Clan scrolls to?" Sasuke asked with his Sharingan activating.

Orochimaru and Kabuto put their hands up in an appeasing manner, neither wanting to get Sasuke mad.

"Relax Sasuke-kun. We haven't read anything yet, but we were simply going to see if there were any known accounts of a Hyuuga and Uchiha having a baby together, so that we could find out what the baby could be capable of. We were going to tell you so that you'd know what to expect when you 2 decide to have children" Orochimaru said handing them the scrolls.

Sasuke and Hinata both had slight blushes on their faces but they were also kind of disturbed that Orochimaru was thinking about any children that they may have.

"Hn. Well thank you for the scrolls, we are leaving now" Sasuke said walking out with Hinata.

When they were out of the room Orochimaru turned to Kabuto.

"You did manage to create copies of all of those scrolls right?" Orochimaru asked. Kabuto smirked and nodded summoning the scrolls. Orochimaru smiled.

"Good. Now lets start our research."

XxXxXx

Sasuke, Hinata, Suigetsu and Karin had arrived at the base that Orochimaru had said Juugo was in. Sasuke already knew were Juugo was so headed straight to him with Hinata right next to him.

Karin watched the two with a frown on her face as she walked next to Suigetsu. Hinata could feel the woman behind her trying to glare a hole into her back, but she just ignored which irritated Karin more.

"That little skank. What does she have that I don't have?" Karin said lowly.

"You mean besides her big breasts, large ass, gorgeous eyes, and long midnight blue hair? Hmm maybe its the fact that her voice isn't annoying to listen to" Suigetsu said.

Karin twitched and punched Suigetsu right in his face splattering water everywhere. Suigetsu's head reformed and he laughed at Karin who was trying to punch him again.

"Enough playing around you 2, we're here. Are you ready Hinata?" Sasuke asked standing outside a large metal door, Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan.

Karin looked at the door nervously, but before she could voice her concerns Sasuke knocked the door down. Suddenly an orange blur sped out the door and headed straight for Sasuke.

" **8 Trigrams 64 palms"** Hinata said as she struck the Chakra points on Juugo's body making him slump to the ground.

"What is this? What did she do to me?" the orange haired man asked when he realized his chakra wasn't responding to him. His body felt stiff, but he could also feel strangely soothing chakra going through his body as well.

"I locked up your chakra points, but I also sent some healing chakra into your system in hopes of calming you down. Sorry, I didn't want to hurt you, but I also didn't want you to hurt any of us" Hinata said giving him a small smile.

Juugo looked at the smiling young woman and felt himself calm down as he felt his cursed seal receding. He stood up when he noticed the guy next to her and the two teenagers behind them.

"Who are you people" Juugo asked.

"The red haired girl is Karin, and the white haired guy is Suigetsu. The woman next to me is Hinata and I'm Sasuke" Sasuke said.

Juugo's eyes widened when he heard the man's name.

"Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha?" Juugo asked not believing his luck.

"Yes I am Sasuke Uchiha and I have a mission that I need your help with. We're going to Suna to protect the Kazekage from some extremely strong rouge ninja. If you promise to help you I'll have Hinata release your chakra" Sasuke said.

"Of course I'll help you. You are Kimimaro's legacy so I am obligated to protect you by any means necessary. I understand if you don't trust me so you don't have to release my chakra until you have use of me" Juugo said.

"Hm okay I'll see how you act for the first few days of travel and if you behave then I'll instruct Hinata to unblock your chakra points, but if you don't then they will stay blocked" Sasuke said with a smirk on his face.

"Don't listen to Sasuke-kun he's just teasing you. I'm going to do it anyway Juugo-san" Hinata said as she gave Sasuke a look. Sasuke simply shrugged.

"Yeah she's going to release it in a few days regardless of what I say" Sasuke said

Juugo smiled in appreciation while Suigetsu snickered.

"I guess we know who wears the pants in their relationship" Suigetsu said laughing but he was instantly shut up when he saw Sasuke glare at him with his Sharingan glowing and his hand on his sword handle.

"I dare you to say that again Suigetsu" Sasuke said.

Suigetsu could feel himself melting, Karin was turned on, Juugo was smiling and Hinata was shaking her head before she grabbed Sasuke's hand and led him towards the exit.

"Come on guys let's head to Suna, we have a Kazekage to protect" Hinata said as she pulled a grumbling Sasuke behind her.

Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo all looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and following the couple out of the hideout.

At with that Team Taka was formed and they made their way to Suna.

 **TBC**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- Thank you for your review, and yeah Hinata going to the Sound was a tough call, but I felt that it was necessary for future events in the story and I've hinted a little bit of Hinata's new abilities this chapter, but if you have suggestions I'm also opened to suggestions. PM me!**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I'm glad that you liked the chapter and I hope that this one answered a few of your questions and added a few more lol. And I first started liking SasuHina when I read an internet article about why Naruto and Sakura should be the end of series pairing which left Sasuke and Hinata together. The more I thought about the SasuHina pairing the more I liked it and the more I thought it made sense. Plus they look good together, the fan art is excellent**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- Sasuke will Read the book, and you'll see the result of it soon enough**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and yeah I agree. In most SasuHina fics that I've read Hiashi is always a bad guy, but I think he'd just be an overprotective father. Besides if he approved of Naruto why wouldn't he approve of Sasuke**

 **Tg1unvme- I hope that you enjoyed the events of this chapter**

 **Please Read and Review and tell me how you feel about these turn of events. If anyone have any questions then don't hesitate to ask and if you have ideas that you think I should add then PM me. Also for guest reviewers that say crazy stuff like that I should quit writing or that imma nobody who lives in a basement; keep writing those reviews. Y'all hate is hilarious to me lol. Until next time- Dishon 3**


	17. Making It To Suna

**Chapter 17**

Sasuke, Hinata and the rest of Team Taka have been bonding during their trip to Suna. Suigetsu made a habit out of teasing Sasuke as often as he could and as a result, Sasuke and Suigetsu fought often. Juugo and Hinata treated each other as long lost siblings. Juugo often talked to animals which Hinata enjoyed, and Hinata kept Juugo calm. Even Karin has been behaving herself except for the one time she was caught trying to sneak into Sasuke and Hinata's tent.

Soon the team arrived at the Gates, but they were quickly apprehended by Sand Shinobi. Sasuke knew that this would happen, so he had already told them to allow themselves to be cuffed, so that they wouldn't raise suspicion.

"State your business in the Sound Village" A random ninja said.

"We are here to warn the Kazekage about an attack that's coming and protect him when it comes" Sasuke said in his stoic voice.

At this, all of the Sand Shinobi present gasped in surprise. They couldn't believe that foreign ninja came to their village to gave a warning like that, and they didn't know whether or not they should believe him or not, but they should always take a warning like this seriously.

"Okay we're taking you to the Kazekage, he'd be able to tell if you're lying or not, and he'll deal with you accordingly" One of the Sand Shinobi said.

Soon they were escorted to right outside the Kazekage's office and Hinata gave a surprised shriek when she saw who was guarding the door. The two figures looked just as surprised as Hinata was.

"Temari! Kankuro!" Hinata exclaimed with a huge smile before running over to hug Temari.

"Hinata!? Sasuke?" The two siblings said as Temari hugged Hinata back with an equally bright smile on her face.

Kankuro was surprised to see Sasuke and Hinata in Suna and he was even more surprised to see how much the two had grown up.

Sasuke was even taller than him, Hinata had become more... womanly and Kankuro was finding it hard to stop staring.

Well at least he was until he felt someone glaring a whole in the side of his head. He quickly took his eyes off Hinata and towards Sasuke who's glare left his eyes.

"H-Hey Sasuke sorry about that it was just surprising to see Hinata after all this time... you guys still together? And if you aren't would you mind if I..." Kankuro said trailing off as he looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke's Sharingan activated and his chakra flared, instantly making Team Taka and the Sand Shinobi take several steps away from him. Temari had a frown on her face and Hinata looked confused.

"...Nevermind, I'm just going to go. Sasuke and his friends are our guests so go back to your posts" Kankuro said to Sand Shinobi that escorted Team Taka as he ran full speed out of the Kazekage Tower with the Sand Shinobi not far behind him.

' _ **Shoot I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to stay in front of an angry Sasuke either if I didn't have to'**_ Suigetsu thought with a smirk as he watched the Sand Shinobi run away.

"What was that all about?" Hinata asked the older woman.

"Kankuro being stupid and Sasuke being jealous" Temari said casually as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.

' _ **Jealous? Of what, me hugging Temari? That's weird'**_ Hinata thought with a frown before Temari spoke.

"Anyway what brings you to the Sand Village? Did you have a real reason to come, or did you just come to visit me and my siblings?" Temari asked.

"Oh yeah we came to protect the Kazekage from the Akatsuki. A valuable source told us that the members Sasori and Deidara were coming to kidnap him" Hinata said.

"Oh well that's definitely not good, so lets tell the Kazekage right away" Temari said as she turned to open the door to the Kazekage's office but Hinata stopped her.

"Wait you should probably go get Kankuro and Gaara. I imagine that all of you have gotten much stronger in the past 2 years, and we might need all the help we can get dealing with the Akatsuki attack" Hinata said.

"Well I don't think making Kankuro comeback right now is a good idea about, and Gaara..." Temari started smirking as she opened up the door for Hinata to see a young man sitting at a desk looking completely focused on the mountain of paperwork he had on his desk.

"...is the Kazekage" Temari finished as Hinata's jaw dropped in surprise.

XxXxXx

Gaara was focused on his paperwork when his door opened.

Gaara sighed no one but his siblings would ever open his door without knocking, but even Kankuro usually announced his presence before opening the door that just left one culprit.

"Temari what do you want? I'm a little busy right now on this paperwork" Gaara said with barely restrained annoyance not looking up from his paperwork.

"You have visitors and you'll be happy to see them" Temari said.

Gaara could hear the happiness in her voice, so he looked up to see his sister next to a woman with long midnight blue hair, lavender eyes and a shocked expression. Gaara's eyes widened in recognition.

"Hinata?" Gaara said in surprised and then he saw the man behind her.

He had grown quite a bit but the signature cocky smirk he wore made Gaara know that this was his first and best friend.

"Sasuke" Gaara said as he got up, a small smile appeared on his face and his paperwork forgotten.

"Hello Gaara, so you're the Kazekage huh? That's nice and all, but what I wanna know is if you're still writing Ino letters" Sasuke asked.

His smirk widened when he saw that Gaara's face was starting to match his hair, but his smirk left his face when he felt something hit his shoulder. Hard.

"This is first time that we see Gaara in 2 years and the first thing that you do is tease him!? You're unbelievable besides we don't have time for this right now" Hinata said scolding Sasuke who was still rubbing his shoulder.

"Sasuke's teasing aside, its great to see you again my friends. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Gaara asked.

"Well there Kazekage, you seem to have some nasty and powerful men after you, so we were sent to keep you safe. Luckily for you, we're the strongest force around and you can call us... Team Suigetsu!" Suigetsu said with a smirk before his head was punched off by Karin.

"You idiot! We never agreed on that dumbass name that you came up with" Karin shouted as Suigetsu's head reformed.

"Why can't we name ourselves after an animal? I like animals, they're wild yet free and sometimes dangerous. Just like us" Juugo suggested.

"I already told you our name is Team Taka" Sasuke said annoyed. His tone left no room for discussion.

Suigetsu let out a low chuckle before it bloomed into full on laughter.

"Did I say something that you find funny Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

"It's funny that you think that Team Hawk is our name. I don't remember Hinata saying anything about that being our name" Suigetsu said.

"What does she have to do with the name of our group?" Sasuke asked.

"If Hinata ain't say that 'Team Hawk' is our name then I don't have to accept it. We all know that she's the leader of the team because even if we answer to you; you answer to her, so unless she says it then our name can be whatever I want it to be" Suigetsu said smirking at Sasuke.

Sasuke's Sharingan activated when he heard what Suigetsu said.

"I dare you to say that again" Sasuke said glaring at the white haired nin.

"Hinata wears the pants, Hinata wears the pants" Suigetsu teased in a sing song voice, but he was stopped when Sasuke grabbed his collar.

"Gaara where's the nearest training field?" Sasuke asked.

"A few miles to the east and it should be deserted this time of day, so you're free to fight to your hearts content as long as you keep the damage levels to a minimum. I don't want you attracting to much attention" Gaara answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Karin, Juugo come on. Hinata can explain things to Gaara" Sasuke said dragging Suigetsu out of the room who was still muttering something about Hinata being in charge.

Juugo smiled at the antics of his friends and followed Sasuke out of the room. Karin couldn't have been more satisfied and it showed on her face.

After all this time traveling and having her efforts thwarted by Hinata, she'd have an opportunity to have Sasuke all to herself. Karin let out an evil giggle as walked towards the door, a giggle that did not go unnoticed by Hinata.

"Well see you later. Have fun explaining the situation to the Kazekage" Karin said to Hinata with a wink before walking out of the room.

XxXxXx

Hinata frowned in the direction of the closed door, but when Gaara coughed her attention was instantly back on him.

"Sorry about all of that Gaara. I didn't know that they'd act so childish in the presence of the Kazekage" Hinata said trying to apologize for her teammates.

Gaara gave a small chuckle and waved his hand dismissively, as if telling her not to worry about it. Then he features hardened.

"Is what the white haired man said true though? Are there people coming here to attack me Hinata?" Gaara asked.

Hinata nodded her head.

"Our information said that the attackers are members of the Akatsuki. Their names are Deidara and Sasori" Hinata said.

"Sasori? Sasori of the Red Sand?" Gaara asked in surprise.

"Yes I believe so" Hinata replied.

"This is not good. He's an S-class rouge nin from this village and he is world renown as the best puppet master in the world. I don't know who this Deidara is, but if he is anywhere near as powerful as Sasori is rumored to be then we'll need all the help we can get. Temari go inform Kankuro and Granny Chiyo that Sasori is coming and make sure that our shinobi know to always stay on guard. We will meet this threat head on" Gaara ordered.

Temari nodded and teleported away to do what she was told. Gaara sighed as he felt the stress weigh on his shoulders.

"Do you know when they are going to be coming?" Gaara asked hopefully.

"In about 2 weeks from now. They're after the tailed beast inside you" Hinata said.

Gaara nodded in understanding, and began filling out forms that canceled all of the outgoing missions. Gaara had a feeling that they'd need the extra firepower.

"Thank you for the information Hinata, we will prepare accordingly. Now as for sleeping arrangements; I'll be having you and your team stay in the Kazekage Tower with me and my siblings. I'll have someone prepare 5 rooms for you guys" Gaara said.

"5? We only need 4 rooms" Hinata said.

Gaara mentally counted the people that were with Hinata when she arrived. He was sure that he counted 5 people, so why did Hinata say that they only needed 4 rooms? Then as if he was splashed by a bucket of water; he understood and Gaara couldn't help but let a teasing smirk show on his face.

"So you and Sasuke are sleeping together?" Gaara questioned.

Hinata blushed at the blunt way that Gaara asked the question. He was always so direct about everything.

"Yes we are, but probably not in the way you're thinking of" Hinata said quietly trying to fight off her blush.

Gaara was smirking at his friend, he felt a little bad that he flustered Hinata so much, but he had to get revenge on Sasuke for making him blush earlier and since Sasuke had left, Hinata was the next best thing.

"So how have you two been, and who are those people traveling with you? I haven't seen them before" Gaara asked.

"For the past 2 years we've trained day in and day out in the Sound Village. We've been introduced to every form of torture imaginable and we've been forced to build immunities to most poisons, but other than that we've been fine. The 3 nin that left with Sasuke-kun were Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin" Hinata said tensing a little when she said Karin's name.

Gaara noticed this and gave Hinata a look of contemplation before his eyes widened in realization.

"You're not jealous of the red haired woman are you? If you are then I don't know why because for as long as I've known him, Sasuke has cared about you the most. I don't know if you were conscious when he pinned me to the wall after our fight in the Chunin Exams but that was the first time anyone has ever been able to slam me into a wall, and he did it because I hurt you. He's also threatened to kill me when he was in my mind, and he scared Shukaku into submission" Gaara started before he was interrupted in his mind.

" **I was never scared of the Uchiha brat, I was just confused as to how he managed to infiltrate your brain and stop me from killing him, so I didn't move. That's all, don't tell the female lies"** Shukaku said trying to defend himself.

Gaara just ignored the Bijuu and continued to speak to Hinata.

"So I don't think you'll ever have to worry about Sasuke being attracted to anyone else Hinata, he's far too focused on you" Gaara said in a matter of face tone.

Hinata smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Gaara, but enough about me. When did you become Kazekage and I'm also curious about if you've been keeping up with Ino. Sasuke's not here so you don't hate to worry about me teasing you."

Gaara nodded and explained the situation to Hinata.

"I became the Kazekage shortly after we returned to the village because of the fact that I was the strongest out of the 4th Kazekage's kids, but the elders were in charge in the beginning and everyone was afraid of me. It wasn't until after my first year that the people actually started to warm up to me and accept me as who I am. As far Ino... I've been keeping in contact with her fairly regularly and I send her a red rose once every month" Gaara said.

"Awww that's so sweet. I'm glad that you 2 managed to stay connected" Hinata said looking at Gaara with a giant smlile until she noticed the serious look Gaara had on his face.

"Hinata please don't ever say 'Awww' to me again, it makes me feel like a child and also please refrain from telling Sasuke the information I just shared with you. I don't want to have to deal with Sasuke's teasing while we prepare for this upcoming battle" Gaara said.

Hinata was about to say that Sasuke wouldn't tease him, but the look that Gaara was giving her let her know that he wouldn't believe any defense that Hinata could think of for Sasuke so she just stayed nodded.

"Thank you. You should probably go get them before Sasuke gets carried away and causes damage to my village. Dinner and your rooms should both be prepared by the time that you and the others return" Gaara said.

"Alright see you when we get back Gaara" Hinata said activating her Byakugan and leaving the Hokage's office.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and the rest of Taka were sitting down on the training field. He had spent the past 30 minutes sparring with Suigetsu with the hopes of shutting the Hozuki up and now both nin were tired.

Suigetsu was drained of most of his chakra and was currently begging Karin to heal him, but the red head refused saying that Sasuke needed to get healed first.

Sasuke had a few bruises,and his chakra was a little depleted but he didn't think that it was anything to fuss over and he was begging to get annoyed at Karin's continuous comments about how he needs to bite her neck.

"Okay fine I'll let you heal me" Sasuke said trying to get Karin to shut up.

"Oh that's great Sasuke-kun! Now come here I'll make it easier for you and you might enjoy your healing. In fact if you want I can give you a full body examination later tonight" Karin said.

Sasuke didn't know what she was talking about, but as he got closer to her he was starting to understand that he might be in a bad situation.

Karin had taken her shirt off, so that she was left in nothing but a sports bra and her pants. She also removed one strap from her shoulder to show Sasuke the side of her neck that she wanted her to bite as well as exposing a bit off her cleavage.

Suigetsu let out a whistle and Juugo looked at Karin with a frown. Sasuke saw the look that Karin was giving him and decided that he was fine with a couple bruises and depleted chakra.

"Actually Karin, that walk made me feel better so I don't need you to heal me anymore" Sasuke said trying to keep his voice stotic. He was really uncomfortable being so close to a half naked Karin.

"What do you mean Sasuke-kun? Aren't you attracted to me? Don't you want that full body examination?" Karin asked with a small pout pushing her chest towards Sasuke.

It was at that moment Hinata arrived, but when she heard what Karin had said she had stiffened. She saw that Karin was half naked and that she was trying to seduce her future husband. Hinata was furious, but no one had noticed her presence yet so she hid, suppressed her chakra and listened to what Sasuke would say or do.

"Am I attracted to you? Why would ask me such a idiotic question..." Sasuke started.

Karin smirked with a blush on her face, while Hinata had a frown on her face. Hinata was about to jump out and reveal herself when Sasuke's next words stopped her.

"...Why would I be attracted to you when I have Hinata by my side?" Sasuke asked Karin with an incredulous voice. It sounded like he was insulted that Karin had even asked him that question.

Suigetsu laughed at the hurt and shocked face that Karin gave Sasuke. Juugo smiled a little. He didn't like that Sasuke had hurt Karin, but he didn't like what Karin was trying to do so he decided that Karin deserved this.

"Sasuke... What makes her so special? What does she have that I don't have?" Karin asked with her hurt quickly turning to anger.

Suigetsu was about to say something, but one quick glare from Karin made him keep his mouth shut.

"Karin, Hinata has many things that you don't have, its actually a pretty long list, but there is something very important that Hinata has that you'll never have. Do you want to know what that is?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes! Tell me what she has that I don't and I promise you that I'll get it" Karin said.

"Me" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Hinata smiled from the bush she was hiding behind. She never doubted Sasuke, but hearing the words come from his mouth was extremely reassuring. Hinata had heard enough and revealed herself shocking the rest of Team Taka.

When Sasuke saw Hinata he speeded away from Karin and landed on the ground next to Suigetsu, but Hinata just smiled. It looked weird with her Byakugan still activated and Sasuke was slightly unnerved.

"It's okay Sasuke-kun, I heard everything and I'm not mad at you. I'm just going to explain our situation to Karin so we don't have a misunderstanding again" Hinata said turning to Karin and giving her a glare.

Karin flinched at the glare Hinata gave her, but she stood firm. She refused to be intimidated.

"Sasuke-kun and I are betrothed to be married a week after my 17th birthday, so when you try to flirt with him, and seduce him you're basically trying to mess with someone's marriage. I will not tolerate your actions Karin, so if I see what I saw today ever again, I will make Sasuke put you in a Genjutsu that makes you believe that your sole purpose in life is to be Suigetsu's personal slave" Hinata said making Karin gulp in fear at the thought of it.

"S-Sasuke-kun wouldn't do something like that to me. Right Sasuke-kun?" Karin stuttered as she looked at Sasuke. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.

"I will if Hinata wants me too" Sasuke said.

' _ **Whipped'**_ Suigetsu thought next to Sasuke, but Hinata's words made him smirk. He unwisely decided to put his input in the conversation.

"If that's the case then I think Karin should try to flirt with Sasuke more often."

Suigetsu was about to say more until Hinata gave him a glare that he had never seen before. The force of the glare had Suigetsu begin to melt, so he shut up immediately.

"Are we understood Karin?" Hinata asked.

Karin frowned and thought for a moment before attacking Hinata. Unfortunately for her, Hinata been expecting it and dodged. Then she slammed a not so gentle fist full of destructive medical chakra into Karin's sternum knocking the wind out of Karin making the red haired girl immediately stop fighting and drop to the ground.

"I'll ask this only 1 more time. Are we understood?" Hinata asked.

Karin tried to find the will power to get up, but she realized that she couldn't. She couldn't even talk because she could barely breathe. It was at that moment that Karin knew that Hinata could kill her at anytime. The knowledge scared Karin so she nodded her agreement.

"Okay good" Hinata said deactivating her Byakugan and smiling as she knelt down to heal Karin.

When she was done healing her she turned to address the rest of Taka.

"We're heading back to the Kazekage Tower. Gaara has dinner ready for us and he also should have our rooms ready" Hinata said as she walked over, grabbed Sasuke's hand and left the training area.

Once Sasuke and Hinata had left, Suigetsu spoke up again.

"So um can we all agree that Hinata is scarier than Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked looking at his teammates.

It was the first time Karin agreed with anything that Suigetsu said and even Juugo found himself nodding in agreement.

"Glad I'm not the only that thinks so. Anyway let's go I need so water" Suigetsu said as Juugo helped him up with Karin beside him.

Then they made their way back to the Kazekage Tower.

XxXxXx

After dinner, Sasuke and Hinata had retired to their room. Sasuke had his shirt off because Hinata was currently healing his wounds from his spar with Suigetsu.

"So how did your 'training' with Suigetsu go before I got there" Hinata asked.

"I was destroying him but he surprised me with his 'Water Gun Jutsu' and he managed to hit me a few times. Besides that, it was fun" Sasuke said feeling Hinata's soothing chakra running through his body.

"That's good" Hinata replied with a smile.

"Hn. So what made you go all 'possessive' on Karin earlier?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"I don't know why you're asking me like you don't know why. What would you do if a shirtless man tried to seduce me?" Hinata asked.

"Kill them" Sasuke replied without hesitation.

"Exactly so what makes you think I wouldn't respond with hostility?" Hinata said with a very Sasuke like smirk on her face.

"Fair enough" Sasuke replied with a smirk of his own.

Hinata finished healing Sasuke, but her hands remained on his bare back. Sasuke felt Hinata hands shyly begin to roam across his skin in a light massage. Sasuke barely suppressed a moan, but he was surprised.

Hinata had never initiated any physical contact between them, and he could tell that something was on her mind. Thinking quickly, Sasuke turned around and took Hinata's hands in his own.

"What's wrong Hime? What's on your mind?" Sasuke asked. Hinata fidgeted for a moment before whispering something that Sasuke couldn't hear.

Sasuke made a face at Hinata that made her giggle nervously before she cleared her throat and spoke again.

"Do you want to have sex?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke's eyes widened and a blush spread across his face and reached his ears. Sasuke knew what Clan Restoration required and, much to his embarrassment, he had read the book that Kakashi had given him, but he never expected Hinata to offer. They also had this conversation before.

"Hinata we've talked about this. I want to but I thought that you wanted to wait until our wedding night; what changed your mind?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata bit her lip as she thought about what she would say.

"I know it's something that you wanted to do and I don't want you to have to wait on me to be comfortable. Tomorrow isn't even promised and I'm making you wait almost another full year; that's not fair to you" Hinata said looking away from Sasuke.

Sasuke let out a genuine smile before grabbing Hinata's chin and turning her head softly making her look at him.

"You're always thinking about everyone else Hinata. You're already destined to be mine for the rest of our lives, so I'm no rush to have sex. We'll do it when you're comfortable whether that be on our Wedding or anytime after that. Okay?" Sasuke asked.

When Hinata nodded, Sasuke pulled her into a deep kiss that she gladly returned. The two spent the rest of the night in each other's arms until they finally went to sleep.

XxXxXx

The next morning everyone was assembled in Gaara's office. Gaara had already given the announcement that they were expecting an attack sometime within the next 2 weeks, and that Sasuke and Team Taka would be assisting them, so the stronger Sand Villagers assembled in his office along with Team Taka ready to strategize a plan until 1 random sand nin spoke up.

"Shira what are you doing here? You're only a Genin and without Ninjutsu or Genjutsu you're far too weak for something like this" the Sand nin said.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in interest when hearing of shinobi without Genjutsu and Ninjutsu being in the meeting.

' _ **This is interesting. I wonder if he has the same Taijutsu skills as Lee'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as Gaara spoke up.

"Shira is my personal Taijutsu trainer so I think he's more than qualified to be in this meeting" Gaara said with an authoritative voice making the other Sand Shinobi all shut up.

"Shira when all this is over I want to have an strictly Taijutsu sparring match with you; If you survive of course" Sasuke said dodging Hinata who tried to slap his shoulder.

Shira's eyes widened in surprise before he bowed.

"It would be an honor to spar with you Sasuke Uchiha; the man that defeated Lord Gaara during the Chunin Exams, his best friend and the welder of the legendary Sharingan" Shira said causing Sasuke to smirk.

' _ **Oh great, the last thing we need to do is inflate his ego any more than it already is'**_ Hinata thought rolling her eyes.

"Okay enough of this. We need to develop counter measures to Sasori's poisons" Chiyo said as she barked orders to the Sand nin who all scrambled to do what she said.

The rest of the day was dedicated to making antidotes to the poisons that Chiyo said Sasori would use, and fortifying the Sand's defenses.

When nightfall came, Sasuke was awoken by a nearby flare of chakra. Familiar chakra.

He slowly maneuvered his way out of Hinata's arms without waking her, and grabbed his sword before jumping out of the window to meet the chakra he felt.

When he arrived at the spot in the middle of the woods his Sharingan activated and he was easily able to locate the man he was searching for. He pointed Kusanagi at the man.

"My, my so hostile. Is that anyway to treat one of your only remaining family members" The man asked.

"Family? Who are you?" Sasuke asked even though he knew all to well who the man was, but he was not supposed to meet him this early and that fact worried him.

"Madara Uchiha."

 **TBC**

 **Nevvy- Thank you so much and yeah this story definitely diverges far from the original. I'm really glad that you liked the changes I've made and Orochimaru-Zetsu will be extremely important in later events, and as you can see Tobi/Obito made contact with Sasuke this chapter**

 **Zigmas- Yes that's how I started liking them originally, and then after watching the show more and reading more Fanfics they steadily became my favorite ship. But thank you for calling it SMART and THOUGHT-OUT. I think so too**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Yeah and I'm glad because I like Orochimaru too, so he's gonna be important even if some people don't like that. I'm not sure what the end result of Obito will be yet, but I'd love the input of the reviewers and great! I'll read it the moment I see that it updated :)**

 **Sinedd662- I honestly don't understand half of your review. You're welcome to write it over properly so that I can respond to it lol**

 **Lusalec- I honestly haven't thought about that. I can if that's something you'd like to read. Review or PM me the movies you'd want to see adapted**

 **Bernadette Dei- Thank you! And thank you for the thumbs up I really do appreciate it :)**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you!**

 **Tglunvme- I'm glad that you did and I hope that you like this one too. And Orochimaru is well on his way to achieving his goal**

 **RandiS- this is the first confrontation but I don't know if that'll be their last**

 **Splaaash-attack- I'm glad you liked it and thank you**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- I'm glad you liked it!**

 **If you guys want to see Movies then please tell me what movies you what adapted into the 'Trying Again' Universe. I already have plans for The Last is to be adapted but any other movies I have no plans for so just let me know : )- Dishon 3**


	18. Sand and Sound Attack

**Chapter 18**

Sasuke looked at his cousin with an eyebrow raised. He didn't know how he was gullible enough to ever believe that this man was Madara Uchiha, but Sasuke wasn't in the mood for his games so he decided to cut right to the chase.

"Cut the shit, I know who you really are behind the mask. If you're here to get something from me Obito, lying to me isn't the best start" Sasuke said.

Sasuke saw Obito's one visible eye narrow. He knew that the man wasn't expecting him to know his true identity. Sasuke could use this knowledge to his advantage.

"I see that Itachi has told you about me then" Obito said.

"Yeah I also know that you played a part in our clan's massacre" Sasuke said accusingly.

"Yeah I killed the Police Force, but Itachi took care of the rest of them" Obito conceded.

Sasuek's eyes narrowed.

"So with me knowing that, what makes you think that I'd want to help you with anything? I hardly know you and from what I do know about you; you're not the most trustworthy person" Sasuke asked.

"You make valid points, but my reasoning is very simple. First, you're one of the only remaining family members that I have left, so I won't anything to purposefully endanger you. Second, my plans will be beneficial for the shinobi world as a whole. And finally, if you promise to help me, then I promise that I can help you" Obito reasoned.

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. Even though Obito sounded genuine, he knew that he should be wary of the man. Obito was capable of being just as manipulative as Itachi, so Sasuke didn't want any chances. However, the man was incredibly powerful, so Sasuke can benefit from his help in certain situations.

"Name what you want me to do and I'll think it over, but I won't promise my cooperation in anything that you ask" Sasuke said.

Obito nodded in understanding before thinking over his words carefully. He didn't want to reveal too much of his plans but he also didn't want to seem like he was trying trick Sasuke.

"The first thing I want you to do is take care of Danzo Shimaru. If he's not taken care of soon then he can be a thorn in my side for my future plans. He's also in possession of many Sharingans that he stole from our family's graves, so I believe that's more than enough reason to kill him" Obito said.

"Done" Sasuke said instantly surprising Obito.

"I didn't think you'd be so willing to kill a respected official from your birth village, but I am pleased with your answer" Obito said.

"I was already planning on killing him anyway, so I have no problem with it" Sasuke said shrugging.

Obito nodded before he continued.

"Will you go to The Hidden Cloud Village and capture the Eight Tail Jinchuuriki for me?" Obito asked. Sasuke tensed a little as he remembered when he tried to capture Killer B in his last life.

' _ **Yeah because that worked out so well last time. Actually I do kind of want a rematch with Killer B... no it's not worth it because that would make Hinata a rouge ninja and she doesn't need to be exposed to that life'**_ Sasuke thought keeping his face neutral.

"No" Sasuke replied with an even voice.

Even in the dark of night, Obito noticed that Sasuke tensed when he asked his question. Was it possible that he was scared of the 8 Tail Jinchuuriki?

Obito quickly dismissed that thought almost as quickly as it formed. Uchiha's don't know fear, it was both a strength and a weakness. Obito decided to take a different approach to see if he can gather any information.

"I'm sure that you are already aware of the Akatsuki's plans to capture the Bijuu, so why are you here in Suna guarding the One Tail Jinchuuriki?" Obito asked.

"Personal reasons" Sasuke said not willing to give any information to his estranged cousin.

"Personal reasons hm? Tell me did you form some sort of friendship with the Kazekage?" Obito asks.

"Don't worry about it, just know that I'm here and that two of your pawns will be killed if they step foot in the village" Sasuke said arrogantly.

Obito chuckled to himself at the arrogant tone Sasuke used. He obviously didn't know who he was dealing with. Obito knew that Deidara and Sasori were coming to capture Gaara, and he didn't think Sasuke was strong enough to handle shinobi of their caliber.

"Do you really think that someone with only your level of power will be able to stop 2 Akatsuki members?" Obito asked voicing is skepticism.

He was about to explain to Sasuke how dumb it would be for him to face those 2 at his current level of power, but he choked on his words when he noticed that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan and released enough chakra to surround him.

' _ **I'm very surprised that he's already this powerful. He'd be very useful in our plans. If I can manipulate him into doing what I ask then I'll be able to revive Madara even sooner than I had originally planned'**_ Obito thought with a smirk that Sasuke couldn't see.

"Word of advice Obito; Don't underestimate me. You have no clue how powerful I really am" Sasuke said as his aura was radiating of him in waves.

"Of course not Sasuke. Believe it or not, I'm actually rooting for you in this battle. From a safe distance away of course" Obito said making Sasuke smirk.

"Wimp" Sasuke teased.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into kid, but whatever. Just don't expect me to help you when the time comes" Obito said starting to get irritated.

"I was never expecting your help with anything, but thanks for the warning. Now is there anything else that you want from me?" Sasuke asked.

"No that's all that I wanted to ask you to do for me at the moment, but I will inform you if there is anything more that I want you to do I will find you and let you know" Obito said turning and walking away.

Sasuke was about to turn around and return to his room when he heard Obito's voice.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. I'd best if you and your team didn't return to the Sound Village" Obito said.

"Why not!?" Sasuke demanded.

"Because there won't be enough left of the Village to return to" Obito said cryptically as he used Kamui to teleport away from Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the spot the Obtio just was and frowned. He didn't like what the man had said about the Sound Village, but he decided that he'd worry about after they successfully defended Gaara from Deidara and Sasori.

With that thought Sasuke left the area and returned to the Kazekage Tower.

XxXxXx

Sasuke made it back to his room undetected by any of Gaara's guards. Sasuke smirked as he opened his window and snuck back into the room, and laid back in the bed , wrapping his arm around Hinata.

His smirk was wiped completely of his face when he saw the veins protruding from around Hinata's eyes.

"Who was that?" Hinata said as she turned around in his arms and looked at him in his eyes.

"I guess it'll be pointless to ask you not to worry about it huh?" Sasuke asked hopefully.

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, but still glared at Sasuke.

"Yeah I thought so. He was my estranged cousin" Sasuke said.

Hinata's eyes widened at the information. She didn't think that Sasuke had any family left except for Itachi, so she was shocked by news.

"How did he survive the massacre, and what did he want from you?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know all the details, but I'm pretty sure he helped Itachi massacre our clan and he just wanted to ask me to do a few things for him" Sasuke said not trying not give away too much information.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Hinata knew him far better than that and knew that he was hiding something, but Hinata wasn't then type to press for information. She trusted Sasuke unconditionally, and figured that he would tell her when he was ready.

"Okay will doing what he wants make you happy?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke had thought that he gotten used to Hinata's selflessness over the years, but she always finds way to surprise him.

"Well he wants me to kill Danzo too. He said that he has been robbing the graves of my clan members and stealing their Sharingan from their dead bodies" Sasuke said grimly.

Hinata paled at this. She was raised in a clan that was just as proud of their Dojutsu as the Uchiha and it was the ultimate insult for someone to rob the graves of the dead. Hinata suddenly felt even more contempt for Danzo then she did before.

"You'll take care of Danzo soon enough and when that time comes I'll be right there supporting you" Hinata promised.

"I know" Sasuke said with a smile and he pulled Hinata closer as the 2 drifted off to sleep.

XxXxXx

It had been 2 weeks since Orochimaru sent Sasuke and the others on the mission to prevent the Akatsuki from obtaining the One Tail Jinchuuriki. Orochimaru really had no interest in protecting the young Kazekage at all, he just wanted to pester the Akatsuki and hopefully reduce their numbers if Sasuke and the others managed to kill one or both of them.

Currently Orochimaru was practicing this new regeneration jutsu with his new body and he was loving the results he was getting. Over the past year he's been testing the durability of his new vessel and he was not disappointed. He was now capable of fully regenerating major organs thanks to this body.

Orochimaru was going to start conducting more experiments on himself when he heard an explosion outside of his base. Kabuto charged in the room with a look of panic.

"Lord Orochimaru we are under attack" Kabuto said.

"Who's attacking" Orochimaru asked already making Kabuto summon small snakes so that they could swallow the scrolls containing all of his research in case they had to evacuate.

"6 Orange haired men with Rinnegan" Kabuto said and for the first time in a long time Orochimaru felt genuine fear.

"We need to evacuate immediately. We can't afford a direct confrontation with Pein right now, I haven't tested the limits of my body yet and I don't want to take that chance" Orochimaru said beginning to walk out the door but he paused when he saw who was looking at him from the door way.

"Its far to late for that Orochimaru, you have betrayed the Akatsuki and attacked Zetsu. For that you will know Pain" Pein said extending his hand towards him.

"Kabuto summon Manda right now" Orochimaru said extending his arm towards Kabuto with a sense of urgency.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH."**

Kabuto quickly bit his thumb rubbed his blood on Orochimaru's summoning tattoo and summoned Manda to shield them and not a moment to soon as they were blown away along with the rest of the Village.

A few yards away Manda got up groggily and rose to his full height glaring at Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"You have some nerve summoning me without the proper sacrifices prepared" Manda said.

"If we make it through this then I'll give you 300 human sacrifices. Now focus on the task at hand" Orochimaru seeing 3 different summons approaching them all which all had Rinnegan of their own.

"Those terms are acceptable" Manda said as he charged the bird summon first.

With Manda handling the summons, Orochimaru turned his attention to the 6 approaching figures.

"Kabuto we have to find a way to escape because if we don't there's no way we'll live through this fight" Orochimaru said. Kabuto nodded as his destructive medical chakra showed on his hands.

"Do you know the know any information that could be useful for fighting this guy" Kabuto asked.

"I haven't been able to gather too much information about the leader of the Akatsuki. The only thing that I can tell you with certainty is that they all probably share the same vision, so be wary of that" Orochimaru warned.

Then all hell broke loose as all 6 paths attacked Orochimaru and Kabuto.

XxXxXx

It had been 2 weeks since Team Taka showed up to warn the Kazekage about the upcoming Akatsuki attack and the Sand Village was on high alert.

Chiyo, with the help of other medic nin, had managed to create enough antidotes to Sasori's poison to ensure that everyone had at least 1 vial in case they got hit by one of Sasori's attacks.

Temari, Kankuro, Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin were at the gates with the strongest Jonin of Suna watching out for any signs of their enemies, while Sasuke, Gaara, Hinata, and Shira were on top of the Kazekage tower.

"Alright they should be here any time now, Hinata use your Byakugan to scout the area" Sasuke said.

Hinata nodded, activated her Byakugan and extending her vision.

"I see them. They're coming from the east and they're traveling by air. They seem to be riding on some type of summon" Hinata said.

"No its not a summon, its one of Deidara's art explosives that Orochimaru warned us about. How long do you think it'll take before they arrive? Sasuke asked.

"At their current pace they probably arrive within the next 20 minutes" Hinata replied.

Gaara nodded as he turned to Shira.

"Are you ready? I won't lie to you, you're task isn't easy and I'd understand if you wanted to be apart of the frontal assault instead" Gaara asked giving his Taijutsu trainer one last chance to change his mind.

"I'm ready Kazekage-sama. Thank you for trusting me with such an important part of the plan; I promise you that I will not fail you, and it is reassuring to know that I'll have Sasuke with me" Shira said.

"Hn. I expect you to be able to handle yourself, I'm not going to save you if you're getting attacked. Find a way to survive or you'll die a nobody" Sasuke said.

Both Gaara and Hinata frowned at Sasuke's words. They didn't think that this was the right time to kill somebody's confidence, but they didn't get a chance to say anything because Shira smirked and responded.

"I will not die in battle today. I still have to face you after this is over."

Sasuke smirked back at him and nodded.

The minutes passed quickly and soon it they could be seen in the distance.

"There they are. Sasuke, Shira go get to your positions" Gaara ordered creating a sand eye to go with them.

"Will you be able to keep up?" Shira asked as yellow aura surrounded him.

"I was just about to ask you that" Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan and the two took off towards their assigned spot.

While they were running Sasuke was studying Shira's technique, and he couldn't help but to be impressed. It looked like a deviation from the 8 inner gates, but Sasuke didn't know how Shira could've learned that if he's never met Gai or Lee.

' _ **Is it possible he taught himself a technique like this and why can't I hear him move?'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as they arrived at their post outside of the village.

Sasuke abandoned his current train of thought when he noticed the giant clay figure flying over their head.

' _ **Looks like it's about to start'**_ Sasuke thought as he surpassed his chakra and waited for the signal.

XxXxXx

"When we were assigned to this mission I wasn't expecting it to be such a crowd when we arrived, but I like it better this way. Now you can all witness my art, un" Deidara said with a giant smile on his face.

"Hello Sasori" Chiyo said ignoring Deidara making the blond haired man frown.

"Granny Chiyo. I thought you have excluded yourself from all Suna affairs" Sasori said from inside his puppet armor Hiruko.

"I did, but this is a family affair. Its my hope that you'll listen to reason and turn back now. You're a rouge ninja, so if you try to proceed I'll have to put you down" Chiyo warned but Sasori just laughed.

"You don't have power to do something like that anymore. You already have 1 foot in the grave, you must want the rest of your body to join it huh?" Sasori asked.

"Don't disrespect Granny Chiyo like that, now we'll only tell you one more time, leave this village" Kankuro growled at Sasori.

"That's not happening, we came here for a reason and we won't leave until we get it, un" Deidara replied.

"Then we have nothing less to discuss" Temari said as she took her fan and with one swing sent Sasori and Deidara flying back away from the village.

"Did they really think that a pitiful attack like that would be enough to deter us, un" Deidara said with a laugh.

"No they just wanted to lead you to me."

Deidara and Sasori both turned around to look into blood red eyes.

"You're Itachi's little brother right? I thought that you were in the Sound Village with that snake Orochimaru. What business do you have in Suna" Sasori asked.

"I'm curious. How hard is that shell of yours?" Sasuke asked ignoring Sasori's question.

"You insolent brat! You ignore my question, but expect me to answer yours!" Sasori growled.

"It's not important, I'm going to know the answer soon enough" Sasuke said doing the handsigns of his Chidori and advancing towards them.

Sasori sent hundreds of poisoned needles towards Sasuke who was dodging everyone in route to them. Both Sasori and Deidara were so preoccupied with Sasuke that they didn't notice the man sneaking up behind them, not that they were gonna hear him anyway.

Shira punched Sasori's 'Hiruko' puppet so hard that the shell exploded and a piece of it hit Deidara knocking the man down. After shattering the puppet, Shira ran to Sasuke's side.

"Good work the others should be here soon" Sasuke complimented impressed with the hit. Sasuke noticed that the Sand eye that was with them had disappeared a few moments ago, so that meant that the he was close.

However, Sasuke was aware that Sasori's chakra had flared, so he turned to see a red haired man that walking with Deidara.

' _ **Hmm so that's what he really looks like'**_ Sasuke thought, but his thoughts were interrupted by Sasori.

"I don't know who you are, or how you got behind me, but you destroyed one of my favorite puppets. I'll be sure to kill you slowly before turning your body into a puppet" Sasori said glaring at Shira who tensed at what he heard.

Sasori summoned the 3rd Kazekage which shocked Shira and made Sasuke wonder who killed him the first time with a weapon like that at his disposal. He didn't know much about the 3rd Kazekage but Orochimaru had told him to watch out for his iron sand attacks.

"Now you will know true fear" Sasori said smirking and he was about to attack but he was interrupted by his teammate.

"Wait Sasori, they've been ignoring me the whole time, so I thinks its time that I reveal my art, un" Deidara said taking some clay out of his kunai pouch and creating some explosives.

He smirked and threw them at Sasuke and Shira. Shira moved to dodge, but Sasuke just took senbon out of his kunai pouch charged them with electricity and threw them at the explosives in mid air making them harmless an angering Deidara.

"How dare you interfere with my art! You'll regret it" Deidara said taking more lumps of Clay out of his pouch and began to build clay figure after clay figure.

Sasuke unsheathed Kusanagi and let electricity course through his blade. He let out a smirk that only infuriated Deidara more. He was about to tell his figures to attack when more people arrived.

Gaara, Hinata, Shira, Temari, Kankuro, Chiyo and Team Taka all stood next to Sasuke and Shira and they all looked ready to fight.

"It seems as though we lucked out Deidara. They brought our target out here to us" Sasori said.

"Yeah, so now we can let loose and kill the others, un" Deidara responded as more clay figures dropped to the ground.

"Alright while split up momentarily. Gaara, Shira, Chiyo, Kankuro, and Temari, you guys battle Sasori. Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo, I need you to distract Deidara and damage him if you can. Hinata and I will take care of the Clay figures and any other explosives, and once we do that we'll help you defeat Deidara" Sasuke ordered.

Everyone nodded and went to attack their targets.

XxXxXx

Orochimaru was being held by the throat by the Naraka Path. Kabuto was already unconscious laying in a pool of his own blood and Orochimaru couldn't tell whether or not the man was dead. Manda had managed to defeat 2 of the summons but he was overwhelmed as well and had been returned to Summonland to heal so that left Orochimaru alone to deal with the 6 paths of Pein.

"Orochimaru you fought well, but your fate was sealed the moment you decided to attack Zetsu and turn against the Akatsuki. Now we will be interrogating you and it will be in your best interest to answer honestly because if you lie, you die" The Deva Path said.

Then the Naraka Path grabbed Orochimaru's tongue and pulled it out of his mouth. Orochimaru's eyes widened when he saw the King of Hell summoned in front of him, but he was still calm as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.

Then he remembered something that would be very useful in his escape, it was very risky but he knew that he didn't have any other options at the moment.

Acting fast, Orochimaru regurgitated his sword and shook his head quickly decapitating the Naraka Path and freeing himself.

Instantly the other paths were charging at the Sannin who activated a fog jutsu to make it hard for them to see. During the fight Orochimaru and Kabuto discovered that they all shared vision with their Rinnegan and Orochimaru didn't want to be seen trying to escape.

Orochimaru picked up Kabuto's dying body and tried to escape when he heard the Deva Path's voice shout.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE GOD!" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes but continued to move as quickly, but as silently as he could. However, Pein was not willing to let him escape.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH."**

Orochimaru tensed as the whole area around him was blown around him. Trees were uprooted and soon Orochimaru and Kabuto bodies were sent flying through the air as well.

Orochimaru blacked out for a moment, but when he woke he realized that he was underneath some rubble. He was going to try to see if he could get it off, but he heard the Deva Path's voice near him, so he stayed quiet and listened.

"Did any of you find a body?"

There was a silence so Orochimaru assumed that they shook their heads.

"Good. Now that Orochimaru has been taken care of and the Sound Village has been destroyed, let's return to Amegakure" The Deva Path said.

Orochimaru waited hours after the footsteps left the area just to be sure things were safe until he removed the rubble that was covering him and Kabuto.

He looked at the unconscious boy's body and knew that he would die soon if he didn't do something and Orochimaru didn't want that to happen. He found Kabuto when he was just a boy and even though he manipulated and used Kabuto since the moment he'd met him, but the boy had grown on him.

Even if Sasuke was the one Orochimaru wanted to carry on his will; Kabuto is the closest thing to a son the Snake Sannin had ever had. He couldn't let him die.

"Just hold on a little bit longer Kabuto. I won't let you die" Orochimaru said as he picked Kabuto's body up off the ground and raced towards another hideout.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Hinata faced of with the clay explosives that Deidara made.

"Remember Hinata, if they touch you they will explode" Sasuke warned.

"I know that, I remember the information Orochimaru gave us on him, but they are diffused if they are pierced with lightning chakra right?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, so only my sword and lightning style attacks are the only way to defeat them, use your air palms to keep them unbalanced and I'll take care of the rest" Sasuke said as he pointed his lightning charged sword at the clay figures who had charged towards them.

"No you're sword and lightning style aren't the only way to defeat them. I've been meaning to show you this but we've never had the time" Hinata said activating her Byakugan.

Sasuke was confused about what Hinata had said. Did she have a new technique that he wasn't aware. He turned to face her.

"What are you- Hinata look out!" Sasuke said as he saw a clay figure appear behind her. He was about to attack but he was shocked still when he saw lightning aura surround Hinata's hands.

" **8 TRIGRAMS AIR PALM."**

Hinata said as she turned and fired chakra laced with lightning. It penetrated through the clay figure and defused it completely as it dropped to the ground dead.

Hinata turned back to see Sasuke's smirking face. Hinata could feel the pride radiating off of Sasuke and it almost made her blush.

"Okay forget what I said before. We fight together" Sasuke said as he charged at the clay figures with Hinata trailing right behind him.

Together the two ninjas destroyed figure after figure and soon there was none left. Sasuke turned to Hinata with a smile.

"You're going to have to show me all the other secret techniques that you've learned because I had no idea" Sasuke said.

"Of course, but only if you show me yours. I know I haven't seen all of your Mangekyou abilities" Hinata replied.

"Alright one day, but for now we have to split up and help the others. You go help Gaara and the Sand Villagers, I'll go make sure Taka is still alive" Sasuke said.

Hinata nodded and the two separated to help their friends with the Akatsuki members.

XxXxXx

Gaara's sand was grappling with the 3rd Kazekage's Iron sand. Gaara couldn't even join the battle against Sasori because he was preoccupied holding back his strongest puppet.

"You're putting up a good fight against the Kazekage child, maybe after we extract the Bijuu from your body the leader will allow me to make a puppet out of you" Sasori taunted as sent another poison dart towards his grandmother from puppet he stole from Kankuro.

"Sasori end this foolishness" Chiyo said as she and Shira dodged the dart and maneuvered around her grandson trying to find an opening in his defenses.

Kankuro had been poisoned early on in the fight, so Temari and Shira had to take him back to the village to get the antidote and recover. Sasori noticed that he left the puppet and made full use of it. He used one hand to control the 3rd Kazekage and one hand to control Kankuro's 'crow' puppet.

"You stop grandmother. I don't know why you are still trying to protect this brat, but all you are going to accomplish is your own death" Sasori said as he made the 3rd Kazekage direct his Iron Sand at Chiyo.

Gaara noticed this but his sand wasn't moving fast enough to save her.

"GRANNY CHIYO WATCH OUT!" Gaara shouted.

Chiyo turned to see that the Iron Sand was very close and with her old bones, she wouldn't be able to move fast enough to dodge. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate but Hinata intervened.

" **ROTATION."**

Chiyo opened her eyes and looked at the Hyuuga who had saved her life. She had never thought she'd see a Leaf Villager protecting a Sand Villager in her lifetime yet she had just been saved by one.

That's when Chiyo reached the realization that she must do everything in her power to make sure her grandson was defeated. Even if it killed her.

Gaara noticed that Sasori's attention was on Chiyo, so he acted fast to get rid of the puppets.

" **SAND COFFIN."**

Gaara's sand completely cocooned the 3rd Kazekage and the Crow puppet. Sasori gave a gasp in surprise and tried to free his puppets from the Sand Prison but Gaara smirked and finished his attack.

" **SAND BURIAL."**

Gaara said as he crushed the puppets to bits making them useless.

"Now that your puppets are gone how do you plan on defeating us?" Gaara asked walking towards Sasori until he was right next to him.

Sasori didn't respond right away, instead he chuckled first and looked at Gaara confusing the Kazekage.

"I don't know what you find funny but I'll be taking you to prison. Your mind will be probed for information on the Akatsuki" Gaara said as he grabbed Sasori's arm, but he was shocked when he felt something pierce his skin.

He looked down to see a sword in his chest and Sasori's smirking face. Gaara coughed up blood and fell backwards.

"GAARA" Hinata screamed.

"Silly Kazekage my body is a puppet. You're lucky that you was ordered back alive or else I would've pierced your heart, now lay here and bleed until I kill my grandmother and the Hyuuga girl" Sasori said walking away from Gaara's body.

Chiyo looked at Gaara's body for moment before she pulled out a scroll.

"I promised myself that I would never use this technique again, but you forced my hand" Chiyo said as she summoned 10 puppets.

Sasori raised an eyebrow at the puppets.

"The legendary 10 puppets of Chikamatsu that you once used to destroy an entire castle. However Granny Chiyo I've surpassed even that" Sasori said as he summons 100 puppets and releases 100 chakra strings from his chest.

"I used these puppets to destroy an entire village" Sasori said smirking.

"Hinata try to heal the Kazekage and leave Sasori to me" Chiyo ordered.

Hinata looked at Chiyo for a moment before rushing to Gaara's body and beginning her medical ninjutsu.

"Now I think it's time that I put you down once and for all" Chiyo said.

"My thoughts exactly" Sasori said as the two master puppet welders attacked each other.

XxXxXx

Sasuke was surprised at how well Taka was handling Deidara when he arrived to help. Karin was unconscious but Suigtesu and Juugo had managed to pin the Akatsuki member down and he was struggling to to escape.

"Good job guys. How did you manage to pin him down?" Sasuke asked.

Suigetsu and Juugo looked at the unconscious Karin before looking back to Sasuke.

"Well we were actually getting beat pretty badly until recently. He kept us at a distance with his explosives and it was hard to attack. Karin snuck up behind him and tried to attack but Deidara saw her and set off an explosion right in her face, but while she was falling back there were some chains that left her body and smacked Deidara in the back of the head. That knocked him for a short amount of time so we grabbed him before he woke up" Suigetsu said trying to explain the situation.

"Hm I understand and now that he's awake are you having trouble?" Sasuke asked his teammates that were holding Deidara down.

"Ehh not really. He's a strong fighter but he's not that strong physically. We can hold him like this all day if we need to" Suigetsu responded and Juugo nodded in agreement.

"Good. Then I'll probe his mind" Sasuke said.

When Deidara heard this he began to thrash and struggle against Suigetsu and Juugo even more.

"You will not probe my mind! My man Sasori will help me escape this and then we will kill you all, un" Deidara said.

Sasuke ignored Deidara's shouts and was about to enter his mind when he heard Hinata's shout.

"GAARA."

Sasuke's eyes snapped to wear he heard the voice and he saw Hinata over Gaara's body trying to heal him, and it looked like Gaara had a hole in his chest.

Sasuke also noticed that Chiyo was fighting Sasori by herself and it looked like Sasori was controlling at least 50 puppets.

"See Sasori is well on his way to killing your friends, un" Deidara said with a smirk.

"We have to help Chiyo with Sasori" Sasuke said to Suigetsu and Juugo.

"What do we do about Deidara?" Juugo asked.

Sasuke's Sharingan flashed and Deidara was unconscious.

"Well that works" Suigetsu said with a smirk as he dropped Deidara's limp body onto the ground harshly as they ran over to help Chiyo with Sasori's puppets.

" **WATER STYLE: WATER GUN JUTSU."**

" **DESTROYING AXE FIST."**

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU."**

Chiyo, Sasuke, Juugo and Suigetsu destroyed puppet after puppet until it was just Sasori left. Sasuke had charged Sasori head on to get revenge for Gaara, and the two were exchanging blow after blow with their swords. Sasuke had Sasori on the defensive and was about to end it, but a voice made him stop.

"Uchiha move out of the way!" Chiyo said as she shifted her hands.

Sasuke didn't know why she was telling him to move but he did, and not a moment to soon as two puppets with swords pierced through where Sasori's heart was seconds after he jumped out of the way.

Sasori gasped in pain as his blood dripped down the swords that had cut through his body, but his eyes widened when he saw the puppets that had stabbed him.

"G-Granny Chiyo you k-kept the Mother and F-Father puppets" Sasori stuttered as the pain coursed through his body.

"Of course I did. They were your prized possessions" Chiyo said watching as the light began to leave her grandson's eyes.

"Hmm. Thank you" Sasori said with a smile as he closed his eyes for the last time.

It was at that moment that Shira, Temari and Kankuro returned to the battlefield. They looked at Sasori's still body for a moment before looking for Gaara. They screamed when they saw Gaara with a hole in his chest.

"GAARA!" "KAZEKAGE-SAMA."

They rushed over to Hinata's side to see what the progress was with Gaara.

"Hinata what's wrong? You can't save him?" Temari and Kankuro asked.

Hinata had tears in her eyes as she continued to try to save him, but she responded.

"He's lost too much blood and he's gone into cardiac arrest. He's dying and I can't save him" Hinata said as the tears finally began to fall down her face.

Sasuke had his had on Hinata's shoulder as she began to shake.

Temari and Kankuro were crying as well and there was a solemn silence in the air before Chiyo spoke up.

"Everyone calm down, The Kazekage will be alright" Chiyo said.

"Really? How? When Hinata said that he was dying?" Shira asked.

Instead of answering the man, Chiyo walked over to Gaara's still body and got down next to Hinata.

"Step aside Hinata. I'll take it from here" Chiyo said placing her hands on Gaara's chest.

"What are you doing Granny Chiyo?" Hinata asked.

"The old must die for the young to survive. I lived my life doing so many wrong things, so in my last moments I'll do something right. I'm going to give my life in exchange for his" Chiyo said as a bright blue chakra covered her hands.

No one said anything as she poured her life force into Gaara.

"With my death brings a new era. One where shinobi from the Sand and Leaf will be allied and there will no war. Thank you Hinata for helping me see that. Funny I always saw myself dying in a fight against my grandson, but I'm happy at the way things turned out" Chiyo said as the last of her life force drained into Gaara.

Hinata and the others looked at Chiyo drop the ground with a smile on her face.

Moments Later, Gaara opened his eyes. He looked around the smiling faces of all his of friends.

"What Happened?" Gaara asked but he was cut off when he was hugged by both Temari and Hinata.

"You were about to die because of your carelessness, but Granny Chiyo gave her life to save yours. Don't blame yoruself though. Chiyo said that she wouldn't have had it any other way" Sasuke said.

Gaara looked at Chiyo's lifeless body and gave a solemn nod.

"Okay we'll have a public burial for her, when we get back to the Village. Kankuro grab her body" Gaara ordered.

Kankuro nodded and grabbed Chiyo's body, while Suigetsu ran back to get Karin's body.

"By the way what happened to the Akatsuki members?" Gaara asked.

"Sasori is dead and Deidara is unconscious" Suigetsu said as he came back with Karin's unconscious form.

"Oh am I, un?" Deidara said as he rose to his feet.

Everyone turned around and got in their battle stances. Deidara looked from face to face before his eyes landed on Sasuke's.

"You damn Uchiha. I won't lose here, un" Deidara growled as Sasuke smirked.

"You're outnumbered and overpowered. Face it you're going to die here" Sasuke said sheathing his sword.

Deidara thought for a moment before he began to laugh.

"Oh you're right. I'm going to die, but I'm taking all of you with me" Deidara said as he ripped his shirt off before undoing the bindings over his heart revealing another mouth.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched Deidara feed all the rest of his clay to that mouth and his body began to turn black. It was a technique that Sasuke knew well.

Thinking quickly Sasuke ordered everyone to get closer to him before he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Temari use your fan to get him as far away from here as possible hurry up" Sasuke ordered.

Temari did as she was told and sent Deidara flying away.

" **SUSANNO."**

Everyone watched in awe and a little fear as a giant purple figure erupted from Sasuke. They didn't have time to ask any questions as Sasuke picked everyone up and began to fly as fast as he could away from the area.

Deidara smirked from where he had landed.

"They foolishly think that they can escape my ultimate art!? Well they can't because ART IS AN EXPLOSION" Deidara yelled.

Soon his body detonated and a blinding white light consumed the area.

 **TBC**

 **First thing, thank you for 300 Reviews! I honestly didn't think I'd make it to this point but I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who reviews and shares their opinions and feedback on the stories. I also thank everyone who gives me ideas to help keep this story going. I also hope that everyone had a good holiday season regardless of what you Celebrate. Now on to the reviews**

 **LB Cat- Thank you !**

 **Bella-swan- I hope that you liked the interaction between Obito and Sasuke**

 **Deomarco Rhode- Wow! Thank you I really appreciate that**

 **Tg1unvme- Obito didnt play a role in the actual fight**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- Thank you! Orochimaru doesn't care about Gaara at all, but he wants to interfere with the Akatsuki's plans, and Gaara didn't know that he was getting kidnapped until Hinata told him last chapter, and because he has intel on the Akatsuki members that are attacking him he doesn't think he needs the extra man power**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- Thank you! Karin will eventually get the message, so she Hinata will reconcile and more likely than not there will be more jealousy scenes from both Sasuke and Hinata, but they aren't the only ones**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you for pointing out that error. I'll go back and change it immediately**

 **Viola (Guest)- Sai will be introduced in either next chapter or the one after that and yes he will be replacing Sasuke on Team 7 but he won't be the only replacement**

 **Lilaclouds (Guest)- of course! I was planning on doing that anyway**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Road to ninja it is. That seems to be the most requested movie**

 **Thank you for everyone who reads and reviews this fic, you guys give me the motivation to continue to write. Please continue to Read and Review!- Dishon 3**


	19. Back To The Village

**Chapter 19**

Sasuke and others looked at the powerful explosion from the safety of Sasuke's Susanno. They were hovering high in the sky out of the blast radius but they could still feel the heat from the explosion on their skins.

"Woah I don't even want to think about what would've happened if we were caught in that explosion" Gaara said his sand reflectively protecting him even inside the Susanno.

"Yeah no kidding if Sasuke hadn't unleashed this thing, we'd all be nothing but memories at this point" Shira said.

"Which begs the question... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING" Suigetsu screamed in a mix of fear and awe.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He really didn't feel like explaining the concept of his Susanno especially to someone as dense as Suigetsu.

"It's just one of the many techniques of my Mangekyou Sharingan called Susanno. It happens to be one of the most powerful ones" Sasuke said.

"Well I don't really care what it is. You used it to save our lives so I'm grateful" Kankuro said placing Chiyo's body down beisde him on Sasuke's Susanno hand.

"All I want to know is why Hinata gets to be up there in the forehead jewel with you while the rest of us have to squeeze into the space of these hands" Suigetsu said complaining.

Everyone just ignored him as the last of Deidara's suicide explosion disappeared.

"Sasuke would you mind flying us back to Suna? It'll be easier to carry Granny Chiyo's body in your Susanno" Gaara asked.

Sasuke nodded and flew the group away from the battlefield and back towards Suna, unaware that they had a spectator that was watching their fight impressed.

' _ **Sasuke is even more powerful than I originally thought. He managed to defeat Deidara and Sasori while keeping most of his allies alive and he even found away to escape Deidara's C0 attack. Not to mention his Mangekyou's abilities. It's imperative that I get him to our side because if I don't he'll be an annoying enemy'**_ Obito thought to himself as he watched them fly away.

Then Zetsu rose from the ground next to him. Black Zetsu had attached himself to another White Zetsu so Obito decided continue to refer to them as Zetsu even though it was a different one then he originally knew.

"Orochimaru has been dealt with by Pein and the Sound Village has been destroyed. Pein is heading back to Amekagure now. He wants to be updated on the situation here" Zetsu reported.

Obito nodded his head and thought over what he wanted to order Zetsu to tell Pein. He knew he had to report that Deidara and Sasori had died, but he didn't want Pein to go after Sasuke.

"Tell him that Deidara and Sasori were killed in Deidara's C0 explosion, and the Jinchuuriki was killed with them. I currently have possession of the One Tail, so everything is alright" Obito lies with ease.

Zetsu nodded and sunk into the ground. Obito looked at Zetsu for a moment before he teleported away in order to begin a mission of his own.

XxXxXx

Orochimaru assessed Kabuto's injuries at his research facility.

Orochimaru had carried his unconscious form for miles until he made it to his primary research facility where he kept all of his important information. He quickly placed Kabuto down on the nearest examination table to see what he could do to help stabilize the ninja.

"This isn't good his vitals are low and he needs a blood transfusion" Orochimaru said to himself as he checked his records to see what Kabuto's blood type was. His eyes widened when he realized that they shared blood types.

"Hn I'm not usually this selfless, but Kabuto has been very useful to me and it'd be a waste to let him die now" Orochimaru said to himself as he took blood from himself and injected it into Kabuto.

Orochimaru looked at the chart to see that Kabuto had stabilized when he received the extra blood. Orochimaru was about to leave him to go to Amekagure to gather more information on Pein, but a cruel thought crossed his mind.

This was a rare oppurtunity for Orochimaru to experiment on the results of combining his blood with some of his most powerful test subjects. Kabuto's body was healthy and it had already received his blood and in essence his cells.

"Kabuto continues to be useful to me even now" Orochimaru says with a smirk as he went to gather the samples from his other experiments.

Orochimaru returned to the room with blood samples from Juugo, Kimimaro, Suigetsu, Karin, and the Sound Four, as well as another giant bag of his own blood. With Zetsu's body constantly replinshing his blood supply, Orochimaru had the luxury of giving as much as he wanted to, even if it drained a significant amount of Chakra from him. He decided that it would all be worth it in the end.

"It'll be interesting to see how you turn out with the collected DNA from all these elite ninja" Orochimaru said as he injected Kabuto with all of the DNA.

After Orochimaru made sure Kabuto was stabilized and hid away safely to recover from the operation he left the hideout.

He didn't want to leave Kabuto, but he knew the man would be safe and he was determined to go to Amekagure to find a way to defeat Pein by any means necessary.

' _ **No Ninja is undefeatable. I will just have to study him until I find a way to get rid of him no matter how long it takes'**_ Orochimaru thought as he jumped from tree to tree beginning his long journey to the Rain Village.

XxXxXx

When the Susanno landed in Suna; Sasuke immediately released the jutsu. He didn't want to startle the Sand Villagers if he didn't have too.

As soon as their feet touched the ground they were swarmed by the Sand Villagers asking questions.

"Did you defeat the attackers?"

"What was the loud explosion?"

"Are we safe?"

"What happened to Elder Chiyo?"

"Uchiha-San are you single?"

"SILENCE" Gaara shouted instantly quieting the Sand Villagers.

"I will answer all of your questions and concerns about what just happened in a public manner later, but as for right now I want Granny Chiyo buried with the other honored warriors of our village and a celebration organized to honor Sasuke, Hinata and the rest of Team Taka for their role in helping defend this village" Gaara ordered.

The Sand Villagers snapped to attention. Someone grabbed Chiyo's body from Kankuro and Karin who had waken up during the trip was assessed by the medic nin.

After Karin was fully healed, Team Taka were surrounded by a sea of stylists and designers begging to be chose for something.

"Gaara who are these people and what are they doing?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.

"They are the Sand Village's best designers and make up artists. They all just want the opportunity to choose whichever one's you want to help you get ready for the celebration. Pick whichever ones you like, but some are rather... exotic. Just humor them and don't get upset and what they may suggest" Gaara said with amusement in his tone as the same thing was happening to him and his siblings. Even Shira was surrounded by some well known designers.

"Hn. You heard him Taka choose whoever you want to dress you, Hinata can choose ours because I don't really care what clothes I wear" Sasuke said.

"I choose you with the red hair" Suigetsu said smirking as he chose a beautiful woman designer to dress him. Sasuke thought it was odd how much the woman resembled Karin, but Sasuke kept it to himself as he watched the woman pull Suigetsu away from the group.

"I want you, you, you and you" Karin said picking 3 out of the 4 male designers and the flashiest make up artist there.

Juugo picked the smallest designer which everyone found weird including the designer, but the woman didn't complain and led Juugo away.

Hinata was being swarmed by the remaining designers and make up artists all trying to be selected. The females were especially excited to be Sasuke's designer which was something Hinata instantly noticed and didn't like it one bit, so she did the only logical thing that she could think of.

"You will be Sasuke's designer" Hinata said pointing at the last male designer.

The man's eyes lit up and he let out a very excited shriek that made Sasuke and Hinata pale. The Sand Siblings and Shira had to refrain from laughing at twin looks of shock on the their faces.

"Thank you my lady you won't regret this. Come on Handsome, it's time to make you even more irresistible" The man said reaching towards Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly got behind Hinata.

"Sorry but I won't be able to go until Hinata picks her designer and make up artist too. We will leave together" Sasuke said from behind Hinata.

"Oh I understand, but you don't have to hide from me. I don't bite" The man said.

"I'm not hiding" Sasuke said incredulously.

"Then why are you still behind Hinata?" Temari asked with a smirk. Sasuke racked his mind for a suitable comeback.

"I just like the view better from back here that's all" Sasuke said crossing his arms stubbornly.

Everyone got quiet for a moment as his words sunk in. Hinata was getting redder by the second and she began to feel light headed so she had to lean on Sasuke for support.

"Well you're not wrong she does have a nice body" Kankuro said once everyone recovered from the shock.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glared at him. Kankuro sweat dropped and opened his mouth to defend himself but he was gagged by Gaara's sand.

"Yeah we'll be leaving now. Hinata will be taking the girl with the least amount of make up on and the most basic designer now the rest of you leave. Sasuke, Hinata, come to the Kazekage Tower when you're done getting dressed" Temari ordered.

Hinata gave her friend a grateful smile that Temari returned before leaving with her siblings. Soon after Hinata and Sasuke were led away by their designers to get them ready for the celebration.

XxXxXx

Naruto had just arrived in the Hidden Leaf Village and he was excited to see his friends. It had been 2 years and he was much more powerful, powerful enough that Naruto had faith that he might've surpassed Sasuke.

After their encounter with Konohamaru's new and improved 'Sexy Jutsu'; Jiraiya left saying he was going to the Hokage office to alert Tsunade of their return. Naruto just thought that the Perverted old man just wanted to flirt with the 5th Hokage.

He was walking in the village streets looking for his friends. He was curious to see how much everyone had grown over the years.

Soon he stumbled up Sakura who hadn't noticed him yet, so being the prankster that he was, he decided to sneak up on his teammate.

She kept her hair short and she now had an athletic build.

When Naruto got close enough to Sakura he shouted.

"BOO."

Sakura let out a shriek as she turned and punched Naruto as hard as she could in his stomach sending Naruto flying back as he crashed into wall.

" **Ouch! What did you do that for brat? You just endangered our life to play a prank"** Kurama complained in Naruto's mind.

Naruto couldn't even respond to the Bijuu as he was in an enormous amount of pain. Luckily for him Sakura was a medic nin and when she found out who she hit was instantly healing him. When she finished healing him she gave him a big hug.

"You idiot! Don't you know better than too sneak up on a ninja? When did you get back?" Sakura asked.

"I just got back, but sorry Sakura. I saw you and I wanted to prank you. I didn't expect you to try to kill me! I guess Granny Tsunade has taught you a lot huh?" Naruto asked rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh you have no idea how much I learned come on I'm sure everyone will be excited to see you" Sakura said leading Naruto in the direction she was going in before Naruto had decided to scare her.

"So Naruto I see that you have gotten taller, but your still the same idiot you've always been. Do you notice anything different about me?" Sakura asked with a sly smirk on her face.

She was expecting Naruto to say that she had become more womanly and more beautiful than she was before he left, but of course Naruto was dense.

"Nope besides that crazy power, you're the same old Sakura I knew before I left" Naruto said with a bright smile. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes.

' _ **It doesn't matter what Naruto thinks anyway. I still have Neji to compliment me whenever I want or need it'**_ Sakura thought to herself as she led Naruto to Ichiraku's.

Naruto's eyes lit up when he saw the familiar Ramen Stand, but his eyes lit up even more when he saw who was sitting in the seats.

"NEJI!" Naruto shouted as he ran to the stand and hugged his friend.

Neji was still taller than Naruto, but only a little. He still had insanely long hair, but he no longer kept it in a ponytail. Naruto guessed that Sakura played a part in that hairstyle change.

"Naruto it's good to see you again, but would you mind letting go? It's getting kind of weird" Neji said smiling at him.

"Yeah besides he's my boyfriend, so if you hug him any longer I might start to get jealous" Sakura said teasing Naruto and Neji who both rolled their eyes at her words.

"So what have you been doing while I've been gone Neji? Besides probably sucking up to Sakura" Naruto asked with a teasing tone of voice as he let go of Neji.

Neji glared at Naruto for a moment, but chose to let the comment slide before answering Naruto's question.

"Hiashi-sama and my Father have seen my potential and been training me personally. I am now a very respected member of the clan despite being from the Branch Family, and ever since defeating my father in a spar I am regarded as the 2nd most powerful Hyuuga, only behind Hiashi-sama himself" Neji said smugly.

' _ **And that's only because he never wants to spar with me 1 on 1 full power. I might've even surpassed him'**_ Neji thought to himself.

Both Naruto and Sakura could hear the pride in his voice, but Naruto could also hear something else. The challenge that lingered in the air between them, but before Naruto could respond; Lee appeared at the Ramen Stand with Tenten.

"It's glorious to see that you have returned Friend Naruto! I see that the youth didn't leave you and I'm quite curious to see how much power you have gained in your travels with the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya. Maybe we can spar later" Lee said.

"Lee, Naruto just got back and you're already trying to get him to train with you. Let him enjoy being back for a minute. You don't see Neji trying to fight Naruto" Tenten said scolding Lee.

Neji was also curious about how much Naruto had advanced, but he wasn't going to talk about here. He didn't want Tenten or Sakura on his case.

"Hey Lee and Tenten. It's good to see that you guys haven't changed while I was gone" Naruto said laughing.

"The others will be here soon" Sakura said sitting down next to Neji at the Ramen Stand.

"The others like who?" Naruto asked loudly.

"Like us" an equally loud voice said as Kiba was scene walking towards the group.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the dog boy. While he was well aware how loud he could be, it was annoying when someone else was as well before he could say something to Kiba, a hooded man appeared next to Naruto and spoke.

"Its good that have you back Naruto... that's because our teammate missed you" The man said.

"Good to see you again too! Uh who are you again?" Naruto asked sheepishly.

The man's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses and Kiba laughed.

"That's Shino you dummy" Sakura said.

"Oh hey Shino but wait you said that your teammate missed me. Does that mean that Hinata and Sasuke are back too?" Naruto asked barely able to contain the excitement in his voice.

"No they haven't returned yet he was talking about someone else" Kiba said once he recovered from his laughing.

"Really? Who was he talking about?" Naruto asked again only to have a pair of arms wrap around his waist.

"He was talking about me."

Naruto knew the angelic voice very well, even if it had been 2 years since he'd last heard it. He turned around in the person's eyes and came face to face with Haku.

Naruto's speech escaped him for a moment as his eyes roamed over Haku's developed womanly curves. Haku noticed this and gave a quiet laugh.

"Is it safe to assume that you've missed me as well?" Haku asked with a smile.

"You have no idea" Naruto said as he gave Haku a bright smile and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"And its good to see that you've finally gotten taller than me. Maybe now you won't feel funny when we go out on dates" Haku said laughing.

"I never felt funny on the dates, I just didn't like that the way the villagers were looking at us ya know? It's like they thought I was your little brother or something" Naruto said defending himself.

"Well no one will make that assumption now" Haku said before she kissed Naruto's cheek.

"By the way how did you become a member of Team 8?" Naruto asked.

"Well the 5th Hokage assigned me to their team after Hinata and Sasuke left on their mission. It was weird at first but soon I got used to them and their antics. Shino's the strong silent type, but it was interesting to hear him talk about his insects, some of them are pretty cool. Kurenai-sensei has taught me many things as well, and I am now more proficient in Genjutsu. Kiba is loud and obnoxious but it was easy dealing with him because I've had a lot of practice from dealing with you" Haku said.

Naruto didn't like being compared to Kiba, but he was so happy that he was seeing Haku again that he decided to let the insult slide.

"Well we'll have more time to talk after we eat. You wanna head over to the Uchiha District later to hang out?" Naruto asked as he sat at the Ramen Stand.

When Haku nodded Naruto smiled and took a large breath before speaking.

"Old man Ichiraku I want 7 bowls of Ramen" Naruto said.

' _ **Man it's great to be home, but I expected Hinata and the Bastard to be back by now. I wonder what they could be doing now'**_ Naruto thought to himself before Ichiraku placed the first bowl of Ramen in front of him.

All thoughts of Sasuke and Hinata left Naruto's mind as he dug into the first bowl of his favorite food.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Hinata had showered and were now in their towels getting their measurements taken by their respective designers and Sasuke was being difficult.

"Stop moving Sasuke-san. I'll never be able to get your waist measurements if you keep squirming" the man who's name they found out was Kou said.

"You're hands are roaming too low to be trying to measure my waist Kou. I don't what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to stand here and let you feel me up" Sasuke said accusingly.

"Sasuke stop acting like a baby and let him take your measurements" Hinata said getting annoyed with Sasuke's antics.

"Easy for you to say you don't have someone trying to feel you up" Sasuke said emitting a small electric current from his body that shocked Kou enough to make him remove his wandering hands.

Hinata rolled her eyes, she had already been measured by her designer and she had left the outfit in the room that Hinata's make up artist was waiting for her in. Hinata would've went already but Sasuke refused to be left alone with Kou.

"Would you feel better if I did the measurements so that Kou can go select a suitable outfit for you?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke didn't even need a moment to think about his answer as he nodded his head vigorously.

"Aww but that's the best part of being a designer" Kou said pouting.

Hinata laughed while Sasuke just glared at the man.

"I know it's probably enjoyable Kou, but Sasuke would be more cooperative if I did his measurements instead. Please don't be offended" Hinata said.

The man grumbled to himself for a moment before stepping aside so that Hinata could measure Sasuke.

"I'll warn you right now Sasuke, if you move I'll lock up your chakra points and let Kou do it. I'll also let him take as long as he wants, so you better stay still" Hinata warned Sasuke.

Sasuke took this threat very seriously so he stood as still as he could as Hinata's hands roamed over his body. Sasuke couldn't help the smirk that spread on his face when he saw the blush on Hinata's face.

"It seems to me like you're enjoying yourself even more than Kou was" Sasuke said.

"Shut Up Sasuke. I don't want to hear any of your teasing right now" Hinata said as her blush intensified.

Sasuke complied and stayed quiet while Hinata finished taking his measurements. When she finished she gave the measurements to Kou who nodded and went off to find the perfect outfit for Sasuke. When he was gone Hinata gave Sasuke a smile.

"See that wasn't that bad was it?" Hinata asked teasing Sasuke.

"Only because you were the one touching me. You're the only one that can touch me wherever you want whenever you want" Sasuke said shrugging his shoulders.

"I-I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to go get ready for the celebration, I'll see you later" Hinata said stuttering slightly as she walked towards the room her make up artist had went into.

Sasuke looked at her retreating figure with a small on his face but the smile went away minutes later when Kou walked back into the room the outfit picked out for him.

"I've seen to it that I got you something resembling the outfit you came in so that you can still show off that tone chest of yours, but the purple belt had to go. It was just a fashion nightmare" Kou said handing Sasuke the outfit.

It was a plain dark blue Kimono, but as Sasuke examined it he noticed an medium sized Uchiha Fan stitched into the outfit. Sasuke looked at the man with a surprised look on his face.

"Did you do this?" Sasuke asked pointing to the Uchiha Fan on the back of his Kimono.

"Of course! It was on your other outfit, so I figured that I should stitch it on your outfit. I also informed Hinata's designer of the symbol, so that you 2 could match" Kou explained.

"Wow that was surprisingly thoughtful of you Kou; thank you... Wait what do you mean match?" Sasuke asked.

Before Kou could answer him, Hinata walked back into the room with a dark blue dress on that stopped a little past her knees. She had a high collar to preserve her modesty, her hair was straightened to perfection and her face had no make-up other than a light pink lip gloss that made Sasuke unconsciously lick his lips.

She looked amazing to Sasuke and he didn't think that she could look any better than she already did. Nothing could've prepared him for what happened next.

"Well how do I look Sasuke?" Hinata asked shyly doing a spin to show off her full outfit.

As Hinata spun, Sasuke saw the Uchiha symbol on the back of her dress. Sasuke's draw dropped and he suddenly felt eternally grateful to Kou and Hinata's designer.

"I love it" Sasuke said giving Hinata a real smile.

"I love it too! We might not be married yet, but I'd thought you'd like it if I wore the Uchiha symbol" Hinata said.

"I think it was a great idea. It shows people that your mine. I was worried that I would have to kill a Sand Villager today, but with my clan symbol on your back they'll know to stay away" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Hinata rolled her eyes. Sasuke was so possessive, but at the same time she couldn't blame him. Kami knows that she'd Gentle Fist any female that tried to flirt with him.

"Yeah, yeah anyway we should probably be meeting Gaara and the others soon. We are being introduce to the village as heroes" Hinata said grabbing Sasuke's hand and leading him towards the door.

Before they walked out Sasuke turned and nodded at Kou. The man had earned Sasuke's respect and at that moment Sasuke promised to himself that he would repay Kou somehow.

Sasuke saw Kou give him a bright smile before Hinata and fully pulled him out of the room to head towards the Kazekage Tower.

When they arrived, they saw that the rest of Team Taka was already there.

Suigetsu had on a purple Kimono with white strips that, Karin had on a light pink dress and her hair was done up in a fancy bun, and Juugo had a dark red Kimono. Overall, Sasuke thought that everyone looked nice; not that he'd ever say that out loud to anyone but Hinata.

When Gaara noticed that Sasuke and Hinata were there, he rose to his feet and approached the couple.

"I see that you 2 are matching. That's an interesting choice, but I applaud you for being so open in displaying your relationship. I'm sure the single men and women of the village will be extremely disappointed. It's rather cute" Gaara said smirking at his friends.

He had on the traditional Kage robes, but Sasuke thought it was more out of laziness than necessity.

"Yeah, yeah we match, but don't you wish Ino was here with you?" Sasuke asked raising a eyebrow at Gaara.

Gaara decided to ignore Sasuke and address Hinata.

"You look lovely HInata. I hope you have fun with your Uchiha" Gaara said making Hinata laugh and tightened her grip on Sasuke's hand.

"I'll be sure to have fun with my Uchiha" Hinata said kissing Sasuke on the cheek after she noticed the glare he was giving her.

Gaara was about to walk away when he remembered that he had something important to ask Sasuke.

"What do you plan on doing when you leave here?" Gaara asked Sasuke.

Sasuke thought for a moment. He honestly didn't know where he was going, but he knew he wasn't going to return to the Sound Village. He didn't know what game Obito was trying to play with him, but somehow he knew that the man wasn't lying when he said that the village had been destroyed.

' _ **It seems like Orochimaru still found a way to get himself killed. That's unfortunate. He actually wasn't that bad when he wasn't trying to take over my body'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

He had actually gotten to know the Sannin a little better over the past year and while Sasuke wouldn't go as far as to say that he liked Orochimaru; he will say that he respected the man a lot more than he did in his previous life.

He could go back to Konoha, but he didn't know what was happening at the Village during this time. All he knew was that somehow Danzo became the representative for Konoha at the 5 Kage Summit because Tsunade was out of commission at the time. He didn't want to put Hinata or the rest of his team in any unnecessary danger if he could avoid it.

Sasuke didn't know where they were going, so he voiced his indecision.

"I'm not sure where we are going yet, but I know we aren't returning to the Sound Village right now" Sasuke said.

Hinata gave Sasuke a look of confusion, but Sasuke gave her a look that said that he'd tell her later so she didn't say anything.

"I can understand that. From what I've heard the Sound Village is less than pleasant. Well in any case you're always welcome to stay here for as long as you want" Gaara said.

"Thank you" Sasuke said nodding gratefully at his friend.

"No problem now please go out and enjoy the celebration. It is to honor you and your team after all" Gaara said before walking out of the Kazekage Tower and into the streets of his village.

"Well shall we go enjoy the festivities?" Sasuke asked Hinata.

"Yes lets go" Hinata replies as the 2 walk out after Gaara.

XxXxXx

Deep in Orochimaru's secret hideout the lone shinobi was starting to awake. He had a massive headache but he felt powerful. More powerful then he'd ever thought was possible.

"How did I achieve such power" Kabuto said to himself as he looked at his hands. The last thing he could remember was being knocked unconscious by one of the paths of Pein. Someone had brought him here and given him DNA to save his life.

He could feel the powers of other ninja, The strongest ninja that the Sound Village have ever had minus Sasuke and Hinata. He even felt the power of Orochimaru himself coursing through his veins.

"With power like this I can change fulfill Orochimaru-sama goals, and if I gain enough knowledge then I can even surpass him" Kabuto said with a wide grin on his face.

Kabuto got off the medical table and searched the hideout for something that could give him more power when he stumbled across a scroll that contained some very powerful forbidden jutsu.

"Edo Tensei? Reincarnation Jutsu... Very Interesting."

 **TBC**

 **I hope everyone had a Happy New Year, and that your 2018 will be better than your 2017**

 **Setokayba2n- Yes it's going to be much tougher for Obito to get the Tailed Beasts now. Obito's going to get desperate and desperate people are often the most dangerous. Also Sasuke died after Madara used the RinneRebirth technique so Sasuke knows nothing about Kaguya or Black Zetsu**

 **Spiderfan92- Thank you for your wonderful reviews. I'm glad that you like the story and I hope that you'll continue to read and enjoy it**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- You didn't bore me at all! I'm grateful that you took the time out of your day to write this review, but to answer your question I completely agree with you. None of the major issues were resolved and The ending of Naruto was anticlimactic to me. They've been building up Madara since almost the beginning of the series and then just when you think they'll win, out comes Kaguya. Personally I don't like the 'Black Zetsu controlled everything' angle they used with the series and although there was character progression in some of the main characters, the only one who really achieved their dream in the end without consequence is Naruto. Sasuke wanted to avenge his clan and kill Itachi which he did, but he was left conflicted and felt the need to leave the village to atone for his sins. Sakura wanted to be a strong Kunoichi which she is, but many of the fan base hates her for whatever reason. Hinata wanted to stand by Naruto, they got married but Naruto is always busy as Hokage and if he doesn't have time for his kids; there's no way he has time for his wife. Overall I love the series but I think that the ending could've been done differently**

 **Bigchef- Thank you and I hope you liked the scene of Naruto returning to Konoha this chapter. And it was just a personal preference. I didn't want them to be separated over the time skip**

 **Tg1unvme- Thank you! And to answer your question, Sasuke won't tell them himself but they will find out**

 **SakuraKoi- Thank you**

 **Serenity-Moonstone- Thank you and I don't think they're ever going to find out. Btw I love you're work I can't for the finish of 'Unrequited Hate'**

 **Serus black antihumannature- Thank you!**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- Thank you and Sasuke and Hinata's return to Konoha will come soon enough**

 **Deomarco Rhode- I'm glad. You just made mine with that review**

 **Nevvy- Thank you! I like the idea of combination jutsus so maybe you will be seeing it in the future and I hope your New Year is going great so far**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- You must be very skilled in prognostication lol but I'm glad you liked the chapter**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you and its just my personal head cannon. I always believed that Itachi knew that Obito was behind the mask, but thats just me**

 **Pro-Uchiha- Yeah I can understand your opinion on Obito. I have mixed feelings about him myself, I don't know what the future holds for him at the moment**

 **Thank you for everyone who reads and reviews the story. Ideas and constructive criticism are always welcome -Dishon 3**


	20. New Faces

**Chapter 20**

Naruto and Neji were sparring in the Uchiha District's training grounds. They weren't fighting at full strength, but it would definitely look brutal to an average Shinobi.

Sakura and Haku were watching from a nearby tree branch to cheer on their respective boyfriends; and to break the 2 apart if things got too serious. Neji had his Byakugan activated and Naruto had at least 300 shadow clones surrounding Neji

"What was all that talk about being the 2nd Strongest Hyuuga, huh Neji?" Naruto asked as he sent a wave of shadow clones all holding Rasengans towards Neji.

"I see you must've forgotten how pointless attacking me head on is" Neji replied smirking as he performed a Rotation that dissipated all of the shadow clones that Naruto had attacked him with.

Neji saw another Naruto shadow clone buried in the ground in front of him. Neji swiftly moved out of the way and dissipated the clone that had tried to ambush him.

' _ **Idiot thinks that old trick will work on me? I'll teach him to look down on me'**_ Neji thought smugly as he focused his Byakugan even more. He was able to find the original Naruto in the middle of the pack trying to form some type of attack. Neji didn't like the feel of the technique that Naruto was trying to develop so he decided that he had to stop him.

Neji rushed through the sea of clones expelling chakra from his pores as he went to dissipate any clone that was unfortunate enough to be in his way. He got in front of the original Naruto and got into his Gentle Fist stance. Naruto laughed when he saw the familiar technique.

"The 64 palm trick again? You already tried this during the Chunin Exams Neji-baka, and if it didn't work then it definitely won't work now" Naruto said as he continued to build up energy for his attack.

Neji smirked at Naruto's predictable arrogance.

"It is true that you were able to withstand the 8 Trigrams 64 palms technique, but that's not whats happening now" Neji said as he struck chakra point after chakra point on Naruto's body.

"2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms..." Neji said as he continued to hit Naruto, making the Jinchuuriki grunt in pain.

He relaxed a little when Neji got to 64 palms, but then his eyes widened when he realized that Neji wasn't slowing down. Instead he was actually speeding up with each strike and the force was starting to push Naruto back.

' _ **No way!'**_ Naruto thought as he felt his chakra system get blocked completely.

" **8 TRIGRAMS 128 PALMS"** Neji shouted as he finished his technique.

The remainder of Naruto's shadows clones turned to smoke as Naruto slumped to the ground. Naruto's eyes were closed in pain.

" **That's what you get for being cocky brat! You already knew that the Hyuuga was a formidable foe, yet you still decided to take him lightly. Now you're flat on your ass with a blocked chakra network"** Kurama said to Naruto annoyed.

"Shut it fox. It was your idea not to do the cool glowing thing, so you take just as much blame as I do" Naruto replied in his mind.

" **The Hyuuga is hardly worth us sharing chakra over. Besides that's your friend and I'm sure you'd be upset if you were to accidentally kill him by using my chakra"** Kurama said trying to defend himself.

Naruto knew that the fox was right so he decided to ignore Kurama as he opened his eyes to see a smirking Neji standing over him with his hand extended.

"You were overconfident and careless to let me unleash my Gentle Fist on you, but based off of what I was feeling from your chakra; I can tell that you've gotten much stronger than the idiot I knew 2 years ago... But you're still the idiot" Neji said extending his hand.

Naruto rolled his eyes as Neji helped him to his feet and supported him. Soon Sakura and Haku were right next to them.

"Alright both of you sit down and let me examine your injuries" Sakura ordered.

Not wanting to anger his girlfriend, Neji sat down immediately and since Naruto no longer had Neji supporting his wait he fell flat on his butt next to Neji.

"Hey Neji pay attention! Are you trying to hurt me more?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Neji shrugged his shoulders and sat still as Sakura removed his headband and began to heal him. Naruto looked at the curse seal on Neji's forehead and frowned.

"So even with you being the prodigy of the clan; they still keep you sealed with that ridiculous mark on your head huh? What happens when you get stronger than Hiashi? Aren't you scared of them betraying you, or using the curse seal against you?" Naruto asked.

Sakura, Haku and Neji all looked at Naruto in shock.

"Since when were you able to think of different scenarios like that? What kind of training did you get while you were with Jiraiya?" Neji asked in amazement.

He was genuinely impressed with Naruto's slight increase in intelligence, but he was also avoiding the question because the truth was he didn't know the answer to it. Although he'd never admit it out loud; Neji definitely wasn't sure what his future held as he continued to get stronger, but Naruto didn't need to know that.

"Don't try to change the subject; answer me" Naruto growled.

"I honestly don't know. If that's my destiny then I'll have to except it, but I doubt that my clan is planning anything like that" Neji said.

"If they do then know that I'll stand by your side" Naruto said. Sakura and Haku nodded in agreement, but being the voice of reason Haku had to point out something important.

"As strong as we are, the Hyuuga are a clan of hundreds, possibly thousands of members. We have to be careful about our approach" Haku said.

"Babe you worry too much. I can create thousands of clones effortlessly and I have a few other new techniques that will make us unbeatable" Naruto exclaimed confidently.

"Well we should wait for Sasuke and Hinata to get back before we try anything, I'm sure that they'd have something to say about it as well" Sakura said.

"Hinata-sama is sure to have come up with something by now and the Uchiha is no idiot. Have some faith in our friends" Neji said.

Naruto looked skeptical, but nodded anyway. He still planned to get rid of the Hyuuga Caste system when he became Hokage, but right now there was little to nothing that he could do about it. He had a feeling that it'll be more complicated than kicking Hiashi and the elders asses. The system had been in existence for as long as the clan's history, so they had to be careful; removing it suddenly can cause in fighting within the clan.

"Fine. I'll wait until Hinata and The Bastard get back before I talk to Hiashi about it" Naruto said.

Neji sighed but nodded knowing that this was the best he could ask for from Naruto. When the man had a thought on his mind it was impossible to erase it.

A few minutes later, Sakura was done healing the 2 friends and the group decided to go to Ichiraku's for lunch. When they got there they were shocked to see Kakashi and Hanare already there.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura said as they ran to the booth. Kakashi turned around with a smile that they could see through the mask.

"When did you and Hanare get back?" Sakura asked.

"Get back? Where did you two go?" Naruto asked after Sakura.

"We just got back yesterday and I can't tell you where we went in this public place. Maybe after we eat we can head to the Uchiha District to talk about it later" Kakashi said looking around.

"Okay thats fine, but why are you here? I didn't think you liked Ramen that much and if this is a date then that's terrible! After months of traveling Hanare deserves to be taken to an actual restaurant, not a Ramen Stand you cheapskate" Sakura said berating her Sensei.

"Is there something wrong with eating Ramen for our dates" Naruto whispered to Haku who just chuckled quietly to herself.

"You've made me grow used to it, so it's not a problem now. Maybe when we first started dating" Haku whispered back.

Unaware of the couple's whispers; Sakura continued to complain to Kakashi.

"Neji never makes me eat Ramen unless we're having a group get together, so I don't know why you're making Hanare eat it" Sakura said.

Hanare smiled as Kakashi listened to Sakura's rant with his eyebrows furrowed. Hanare knew that the pinkette would never stop talking if someone didn't cut her off, so she decided to save him from his students rambling.

"Kakashi has brought me here because when he heard that Naruto had returned, he knew it was only a matter of time before he came here to eat. Kakashi has news that he wants to share with you all" Hanare said.

Sakura and Naruto looked at Kakashi in surprise, but stayed quiet to see what he had to say.

"Thank you Hanare. I thought she'd never shut up" Kakashi said gratefully ignoring the glare Sakura was giving him.

"I want you to know that for the moment, I will no longer be leading Team 7. Tsunade-sama has two replacement members that will replace Sasuke and I on the team" Kakashi said making Naruto and Sakura instantly begin to complain but Kakashi saw this coming and promptly cut them off.

"It's not a permanent change, and will only be in effect until Sasuke and Hinata return to the village. Tsuande-sama has assigned Hanare and I with certain missions, so I'll be too busy to effectively lead the team anymore" Kakashi finished.

Seeing that Sakura and Naruto were stunned into silence. Haku decided to ask for them.

"So who are the two new members of Team 7?"

Before Kakashi could answer the question; 2 figures appeared behind Haku, Naruto, Neji and Sakura. The 4 were instantly alerted to the chakra behind them and turned around to see a tall man with short brown hair and some type of head protector and a black haired teenager that looked to be around their age.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Yamato. I used to serve under Kakashi-senpai in the Anbu Black Ops so I assure you I can be trusted" Yamato said when he sensed the tense chakra the 4 teenagers were emitting.

"Yeah nice to meet you" Naruto and Sakura said simultaneously. Neji and Haku just nodded at the man before all of their eyes landed on the Black haired teen.

It was obvious to all of them that this man was meant to be a replacement for Sasuke in every sense of the word, and they didn't like that one bit.

"Who are you!?" Naruto demanded pointing at him.

"I'm Sai" The man said as he gave them all a smile that sent chills down all of their spines. Even Kakashi and Yamato were uncomfortable.

"So tell us about yourself Sai" Sakura said trying to get to know her new teammate better. Sai thought for a minute about what he could tell them, before he spoke up.

"There is not much to tell other than my name and jutsu. I make animals I draw come to life with my scrolls" Sai explained.

"Oh that's cool" Naruto said not really having anything else to say.

"Well you guys go take Sai to hang out with everyone. I'll make sure Yamato here knows what to do to correctly lead Team 7. Hanare and I will meet you later around 8 in the place we discussed earlier" Kakashi said.

Naruto and the others nodded in agreement before Naruto wrapped his arm around Sai who looked at him in confusion.

"Come on Crop Top, time to introduce you to the others" Naruto said.

' _ **Crop top? That's not my name'**_ Sai thought to himself as he allowed Naruto to walk him away.

"I hope Sai doesn't say or do anything that will cause conflict. This is his first time interacting with people of his age group since his early days in his Root training" Yamato said as he watched the group walk away.

"You're right about that Yamato. If he doesn't then he might die today" Kakashi said. Hanare couldn't help but agree with Kakashi. Between Naruto and Sakura it was very possible that they'd attack if they were offended.

"Lets just hope for the best" Hanare said.

The two males nodded and then began to talk about Team 7 leadership as the teenagers disappeared from sight.

XxXxXx

When the group had all gathered together and Sai had been introduced to the group; Sai pulled Naruto to the side to ask him a question.

"Naruto why did you call me Crop Top earlier? I don't understand because I had already told you that my name was Sai."

Naruto looked at Sai with a confused expression. Had the man never heard of a nickname before.

"Relax its just a nickname" Naruto said.

"What's a nickname?" Sai asked.

' _ **Well I guess that answers my question. What has this guy been living under a rock his whole life'**_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Well a nickname is a name based of someone's physical attributes or personality traits" Naruto explained trying to sound smart.

"Physical attributes or personality traits... Oh I see. Crop Top is because my shirt doesn't cover my stomach area. That was a very clever name Naruto" Sai said with his weird smile.

Naruto beamed at the compliment. It wasn't everyday someone called something that he came up with clever, so Naruto intended to abuse it for as long as it lasts. He was actually starting to like Sai.

"Yeah I know. I come up with the best nicknames! Now why don't you come up with a nickname for me?" Naruto asked Sai.

Sai nodded and thought for a moment as he looked at Naruto fully assessing his physical form. He smiled when he came up with something.

"I'll think your nickname will be Dickless" Sai said smiling at Naruto.

...Actually scratch that. Naruto absolutely hated Sai.

"DICKLESS ARE YOU SERIOUS!? HOW DOES THAT DESCRIBE ME AT ALL?" Naruto shouted attracting the attention of the rest of their friends.

"Naruto, Sai what happened? Why did Naruto scream like that?" Sakura asked.

' _ **Let's see physical attributes and personality traits for Sakura and the others...'**_ Sai thought to himself as he faced Sakura.

"Oh Naruto was just teaching me about nicknames. It's nothing to really worry about...Ugly" Sai said.

The room was quiet for a moment as everyone took in what Sai had just called Sakura. Then Naruto sprung to action creating a dozen shadow clones to restrain an irate Sakura and another 4 clones to restrain Neji.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME UGLY! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT I'M ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WHOLE VILLAGE" Sakura shouted trying to fight off the Naruto clones to get to Sai.

Sai blinked at the dangerous aura that was emitting from the Pink Haired woman. He wasn't sure what he said to make her feel so angry towards him, but he knew it was in his best interest to talk to someone else. He didn't want to have to kill his new teammate so soon after meeting her.

"So what do you guys usually do for fun pineapple?" Sai asked.

"So original. I haven't heard that one all my life or anything, but to answer your question we hardly ever see each other because of missions and everything, but when we do we have get togethers like this. By the way I don't want a nickname, Call me Shikamaru" Shikamaru said with a yawn.

Sai nodded in understanding. This Shikamaru person seemed like the most sensible of the group.

"That's interesting" Sai said as he turned and greeted Choji who was eating while all the commotion was going on.

"You seem to be really engaged in your meal. Is it good fat..." Sai was forced to stop talking by Shikamaru who covered his mouth. He was confused for a moment before he felt a fairly large amount of chakra radiating of Choji.

"Was he just about to call me 'Fatty'?" Choji asked as he put his fork down. Sai was trying to nod his head because that's exactly what he was about to say, but fortunately for him Shikamaru spoke up.

"No Choji. He wasn't saying that you were fat, he was just talking about the fat that the cooks left on the meat. I think he's used to it being cut off" Shikamaru said trying to calm his best friend.

Sai still didn't know what he did to make the other man's chakra flare like that but he wasn't going to dwell on it, he still had to give the others nicknames. He removed himself from Shikamaru and approached Ino. She looked at Sai hesitantly as he walked towards her. She was ready to attack if Sai gave her a nickname similar to Sakura's.

"Are you enjoying the get together... Pretty lady?" Sai asked.

Ino looked on in shock as a small blush came out her face. Sakura erupted in rage once more and Naruto needed to summon more clones to continue to hold her back.

"Pretty Lady huh? I thought you give me a nickname similar to forehead over there" Ino said.

"I'm guessing that you are referring to Sakura because she does have a rather large forehead, but in any case I am only trying to accurately describe you" Sai said taking steps further away from Sakura who seemed like she had almost dissipated all of Naruto's clones.

"Hm I see, but to answer your question; I am enjoying myself especially now that Sakura's all worked up" Ino said laughing.

' _ **Her laughter is enjoyable. I should try to hear it as much as possible'**_ Sai thought to himself. Soon after the real Naruto grabbed him to escape the restaurant and Sakura's wrath.

When they were a safe distance away, Naruto addressed Sai.

"Dude, we really need to work on your nicknaming skills. You almost got killed back there!"

"I might've been heavily injured, but I don't think our teammate would go as far as to kill me over a nickname" Sai said with his creepy smile.

Naruto just looked at him with a frown on his face.

"We also have to get you to stop doing that creepy smile. It's very weird" Naruto said. Sai shrugged and began to walk away. Naruto groaned

"Ugh I wish that Sasuke and Hinata would hurry back, but if they don't then imma have to start looking for them. BELIEVE IT" Naruto shouted

XxXxXx

At the gates of the Sand Village, Sasuke and Hinata sneezed at the same time and then looked at each other.

"I think the loser is talking about us. That means he must be back in the Village" Sasuke said.

"How do you know it was Naruto and not one of our other friends?" Hinata asked in amusement.

"Because the way I sneezed was annoying" Sasuke said as if it explained everything. Hinata just laughed at the face he was making.

"Well its a good thing we're heading back home then. It'd be a shame if he came looking for us" Hinata said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

' _ **You don't know the half of it'**_ Sasuke thought to himself but he was pulled out of his musings by Gaara.

"I've decided to accompany you to the Leaf Village. It'll be good to see Naruto and the others again. The 5 Kage summit is in a month so I can just go head there with the 5th Hokage when the time comes" Gaara said.

"That's great Gaara! I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you again" Hinata said with a bright smile.

"Do you honestly think I'm buying your pathetic excuse to come with us? You just want to see Ino again don't you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Gaara ignored Sasuke and created a Sand Clone to watch over the village for him. Team Taka then arrived in their travel cloaks showing that they were ready to leave as well

"Alright now that everyone's here let's get going. It's a 1 week journey to the Leaf Village so lets go" Sasuke ordered, but before everyone could nod Suigetsu spoke up.

"Uh why can't you fly us there in your Susan thing?" Suigetsu asked whining. Sasuke twitched.

"Its called Susanno and because that would be a waste of Chakra, now stop complaining" Sasuke said.

"Why are we even going to Konoha anyway? I understand that you and Hinata are from there, but what makes you think that I'd want to go?" Suigetsu asked

Sasuke rolled his eyes as was about to yell at Suigetsu when Hinata cut him off.

"I thought you wanted to collect all of the Swords from the 7 Ninja swordsman of the mist? Zabuza stays in the leaf village" Hinata said.

Suigetsu instantly perked up and began to walk out the gate. When he noticed that no one had followed him, he stopped and said.

"What are y'all doing? Its a week's travel so lets get going" Suigetsu ordered before continuing to walk.

Everyone shook their heads at Suigetsu and walked out after him.

"I can't wait to be back home, and I can't wait to try my new technique on Neji-niisan. He'll love it" Hinata said happily.

Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the thought too. This new technique would not only benefit Neji, but the rest of the Hyuuga too. The council might disagree, but Sasuke couldn't care less. He had a Chidori for anyone who tried to stop Hinata, including Hiashi. Sasuke just hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

"Well if we run then we can cut the trip time to 3 days" Sasuke suggested.

"3 days!? Why didn't you say that earlier. Come on lets go" Suigetsu said jumping into the trees.

Karin and Juugo just sighed at Suigetsu before jumping into the trees themselves to keep pace with their friend. Gaara looked at Sasuke and Hinata with a smirk.

"I'll race you" He said jumping into the trees. Hinata laughed and jumped into the trees after the Kazekage then she noticed that Sasuke was still walking.

"You're not going to race?" Hinata asked surprised. Sasuke was usually the most competitive person that she knew especially when it came to Naruto, Neji or Gaara. He'd never back down from a challenge.

"Of course I am. I just need to give you a head start to make it fair" Sasuke said with a smirk and a playful gleam in his eyes. Hinata laughed.

"You're going to regret that decision" She said as she took off after Gaara and the others.

Sensing that she was gone Sasuke summoned his Hawk Garuda. He didn't talk often like Aoda or most of his snake summons but he was still one of his most important and reliable summons. He was also the fastest summon he had and he wanted to deliver this information as soon as possible.

"How may I help you Sasuke-sama?" Garuda asked.

"Tell Itachi and Kisame to go to the leaf. The attack on Danzo will begin soon and I want them there for it" Sasuke said.

Garuda nodded and took off towards the direction of Itachi and Kisame to deliver the message.

Sasuke stayed on the ground after that for a full minute before sprinting off after his friends with a lot on his mind. He didn't know what to expect from Konoha at this point in time, but he knew that his attack on Danzo was going to be soon.

XxXxXx

Itachi was surprised at the lack of members at the Akatsuki headquarters. He and Kisame were there to deliver the Four Tails Jinchuuriki, but it had been missing a few members.

"Where is everybody?" Kisame asked.

"Hidan and Kakuzu just dropped of the Two Tails Jinchuuriki and have left to collect a bounty on someone named Chiriku. Pein has left to kill Orochimaru and Zetsu informed me that Sasori and Deidara have been killed in an attempt to capture the One Tail Jinchuuriki" Konan said.

"Did the Jinchuuriki kill them?" Itachi asked. Konan shook her head.

"No the one who defeated them was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Zetsu said that he had some help, but he was the main contributor. We'll have to deal with him if he becomes a threat against our goals" Konan said staring at Itachi.

Itahci kept his straight face but he was livid. He would not allow anyone to touch his little brother. He'd die before he'd let that happen. He was about to say something, but he was interrupted.

"That won't be necessary Konan. I've personally spoken with Sasuke and he has agreed to no longer interfere with our plans. In fact, he's going to help me with something" The man said.

"I see..." Konan said not sure what to call him. She knew him as Madara, but to the rest of the Akatsuki he was Tobi.

"You may call me Madara. These two already know" Obito said looking at Itachi who despite his calm facade was seconds away from lunging at Obito.

"Well good job Madara. I'll leave the matter of Sasuke Uchiha in your capable hands. Come on Itachi, Kisame, I have to discuss your next target with you. This one may prove to be dangerous" Konan said gesturing for Kisame and Itahci to follow her.

"Just tell Kisame. I have to talk with Itachi about something important. I'll brief him on the mission myself" Obito said.

Konan nodded and walked off. Kisame looked at the two for a moment before he shrugged and followed Konan deeper into the base away from the 2 Uchiha. Obito led Itachi to the outside of the base into an opening in a nearby forest

When they were alone there was a tense silence for a moment before both Itachi and Obito activated their Mangekyou Sharingan. However, Obito put his hands up in a peaceful gesture before a fight broke out.

"I know what you're thinking, but I haven't touched Sasuke and the boy is far too smart to be easily manipulated" Obito said.

"But you still talked to him which means that you are planning something that involves him somehow" Itachi countered.

"I have the same plans for him that I have for you. Why won't you just join me and stop resisting? We're the only family that we have left since the Leaf ordered you to murder the rest of the clan" Obito said.

Itachi's frown never left his face. He may have been seen as a villain and used to prevent another great ninja war, but he still loved Konoha and he knew that if he joined Obito then the Village had a good chance of being destroyed.

"I'll never understand why you want to protect the Village that caused us so much pain" Obito said sighing.

"Its called Loyalty which is obviously a trait that you lack" Itachi said.

"Don't lecture me, when you lied to your brother and was planning on having him kill you. I don't know how he found out the truth, but you would've caused him more pain then happiness if he found out after he killed you" Obito reminded him. Itachi knew that he was right so he decided to change the subject.

"What did you ask him to do for you? If he agreed then it had to be something that helps him as well" Itachi said.

Before Obito could respond a large hawk landed between them. He looked back and forth from Obito and Itachi before he spoke up.

"Sasuke-sama has sent me to give a message to his brother and Kisame. He and the others are heading to the leaf and he wants you to be there. He said that the attack on Danzo will begin soon.

Itachi eyes widened at the news and Obito smirked from behind his mask.

"Thanks. We'll be there as soon as we can, but please inform him not to be hasty in his attack" Itachi said.

Garuda nodded and flew off back to his master. When the bird was out of sight, Itachi turned his attention back to Obito.

"I don't know what game you're playing but I don't appreciate you using Sasuke to do your dirty work" Itachi said glaring at him.

"Stop acting like you wasn't planning to kill Danzo anyway. Sasuke told me so himself" Obito said rolling eyes behind the mask.

"What reasons do you have to want Danzo dead?" Itachi asked.

"Same as you. He gave the order to massacre the clan, but more importantly he's going to be a nuisance to me in the future, so I thought it'd be better to have him dealt with."

Itachi looked at Obito. He knew that the man had more than enough power to defeat Danzo by himself if he chose to. He didn't understand why he wanted Sasuke to do it instead. As if sensing what the other man was thinking Obito spoke again.

"I could get rid of him myself, but that would be taking away you and Sasuke's chance for revenge. I would never do that" Obito said.

At that moment, Kisame came out of the hideout and looked back and forth between the two Uchiha.

"Anything I miss?" The man asked.

Itachi glared at Obito before turning his attention towards Kisame.

"Can you handle the mission that we were just given by yourself?" Itachi asked his partner.

"Well its the Eight Tail Jinchuuriki who is rumored to be the strongest, but I think I can take him, why?" Kisame asked.

"I'm going to Konoha. I'm leaving this mission in your hands, don't blow our cover" Itachi said as he took off towards the Leaf Village.

' _ **Please don't do anything foolish until I get there little brother'**_ Itachi thought to himself as the trees blurred around him.

XxXxXx

In the Hokage's office Jiraiya and Tsunade were arguing about a mission request.

"You want to do what alone!?" Tsunade said not believing her ears.

"I want to head to Amekagure. I got a lead that the Akatsuki leader stays there, so I want to scope the place out" Jiraiya said.

"That's an incredibly dangerous mission and you want to go alone? What if your lead is correct and you have to face the leader by yourself? You could die" Tsunade asked frowning.

Jiraiya had always been an idiot, but this was stretching the boundaries of the word. This was basically a suicide mission.

"Wow thanks for the overwhelming confidence in my abilities" Jiraiya said pouting. Tsunade was not in the mood for this.

"Stop playing around and take something seriously for once in your life!" Tsunade said

Jiraiya stopped his pouting and looked at Tsunade with a serious expression.

"Look if you're that worried about this then make a bet that I'll die and I'll definitely survive' Jiraiya said.

At Tsunade's furious face, Jiraiya sweat dropped and added

"It's a joke! Relax. Besides I'm a Sannin just like you I promise I won't die easily" Jiraiya said.

Tsunade nodded and authorized Jiraiya to go on the mission. She watched him walk away from her with a heavy heart.

' _ **You better make it back here safely'**_ Tsunade thought as she watched her friend walk away from her and out of the village

 **TBC**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you! And yep Kabuto thinks that Orochimaru is dead and is once again going down the path he took in canon**

 **Splaaash- attack- Thank you! And yes he will, but I don't think anyone will have to jump in this time around**

 **Tg1unvme- With Sasuke's knowledge of his past life it'll definitely be much easier to take care of Danzo himself, but there might be other difficulties**

 **Serus black antihumannature- That's not necessary because the crew is heading back to Konoha themselves**

 **Nevvy- Yeah it was a relaxed chapter after the Sasori/ Deidara fight and Kabuto is definitely up to something. Also thank you for pointing that out! I went back and revised all of the previous chapters. I didn't even notice it lol**

 **Shikara Gizzel, Lusalec, SakuraKoi- Thank you!**

 **Sorry for the long break. It shouldn't take that long to update another chapter. Please continue to read and review and tell me what you think. Suggestions are always welcomed! - Dishon 3**


	21. Freedom

**Chapter 21**

Sasuke and the others were now close to the Leaf Village, and Sasuke was feeling a little anxious.

He had already decided that he was going to attack Danzo sometime soon, but Garuda had returned saying that Itachi wanted him to wait until he got there to make a move, so Sasuke was thinking about how to go about his attack. If he wasn't careful then he'd be labeled as a rouge nin once again.

He wouldn't purposely hurt anyone else, but Danzo was a respected elder in the Leaf Village, so Sasuke knew that if he just straight up attacked him; there'd be a good chance that other shinobi would jump in to his defense. In that case, Sasuke would have no other choice but to dispose of them as well.

Hinata's excited shriek shook him out of his own thoughts.

"I can see the Village gates! We're here" she said sending a bright smile at Sasuke.

Sasuke smiled back, but then the smile left his face as a disturbing thought entered his mind.

' _ **The Old Sage said that Naruto retained his power as well, so if Jiraiya already taught him how to use Sage Mode, then he'll already know we're back. Which means... Oh hell'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

As soon as Sasuke finished his thought a blonde blur slammed into him, knocking him down. The momentum sent them rolling back a few feet.

Team Taka were instantly on alert and went to attack the person that attached himself to Sasuke, but Hinata and Gaara stopped them when they saw who it was.

"WELCOME BACK BASTARD" Naruto shouted with his brightest smile and tears in the corner of his eyes. Sasuke couldn't help but smile back at his best friend as he looked at him. Just as he thought there was the yellow outline around his eyes.

"Can you get off me now Loser, I'm not even back in the Village yet" Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

Naruto got off Sasuke and looked around to see everyone else who was with him. He didn't know the red haired girl with glasses, the white haired man with a fanged tooth, or the orange haired giant, but he did know Hinata and Gaara. When he noticed them his smile got even brighter, if that's even possible.

"HINATA! GAARA!" Naruto shouted as he ran over to hug Gaara. When he was done embracing his friend he wrapped Hinata into a huge bear hug causing her to laugh and return the hug.

The hug must've lasted too long because Naruto could sense Sasuke's glare burning a hole in the side of his head. He let Hinata go and sent a smirk at Sasuke.

"I see you're still the same possessive Bastard that you were before you left. Good to see that some things don't change" Naruto said as he walked back over Sasuke to talk about how excited he was that they were back

Team Taka were shocked at the way Naruto was talking to Sasuke, especially Suigetsu. Usually if he said something like that, Sasuke would beat the chakra out of him, but this blond haired man got away with it.

"Who is this guy that can talk to Sasuke without him attacking him?" Suigetsu whispered to Hinata who just gave him a smile.

"That's Naruto. He's Sasuke's best friend and believe me that is only because they haven't seen each other in 2 years. It's only a matter of time before they're fighting like cats and dogs again" Hinata said back. Gaara nodded in agreement remembering how much his two friends fought.

Then Neji arrived with his Byakugan activated, but he wasn't alone. Kakashi, Hanare, Haku, Zabuza and Sakura were with him. All of their eyes widened when they saw who Naruto was next too.

"SASUKE, HINATA YOU'RE BACK" They all shouted as they surrounded the two.

Soon Hinata and Sasuke were bombarded by questions, hugs and smiles from their friends.

"How did you guys know we were here?" Sasuke asked once everyone calmed down.

"We were all in the Uchiha District and Naruto was showing us one of his new techniques when he just sprinted out of the room. Neji activated his Byakugan and tracked his chakra to out here so we followed. We had no idea that you two had returned" Kakashi said.

Then everyone noticed the 3 people that had been ignored up to this point. Sensing the attention on them, Suigetsu took this opportunity to address Zabuza.

"Zabuza-senpai do you remember me? I'm Suigetsu Hozuki; Mangetsu's little brother" Suigetsu asked with smirk.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment before he remembered a small white haired boy that used to hang around the swordsman whenever they were assembled in the village.

"Well I'll be damned, You grew up kid. Do you know how to wield all of the legendary swords liked your brother did?" Zabuza asked.

"I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure I could figure it out if I was given the chance. So what do you say Zabuza? Wanna fight to the death for your executioner's blade?" Suigetsu said.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because as soon as the words left his mouth, he was pinned to a nearby tree by 10 senbon curtesy of Haku. She was glaring at him as she spoke.

"Don't you ever threaten Zabuza like that again. The next time that you do I'll be sure to kill you in the most slow and painful way that I know how to" Haku said with more senbon in her hand.

Naruto chuckled nervously and lowered Haku's hand before she could throw anymore senbon at Suigetsu's exposed form.

"Relax babe, we're all friends here. I'm sure that he was just kidding about the fight to the death" Naruto said putting his arm around Haku's waist to pacify her.

"Nah he was dead serious kid. That's just the way things were in the Mist Village, and if you wanna keep your arm I suggest you remove it from around Haku's waist" Zabuza said with his aura flaring.

Naruto was quick to try to remove his arm, but Haku kept it in place and gave Zabuza an annoyed look. Zabuza just shrugged his shoulders and addressed Suigetsu who had just freed himself from being pinned to the tree.

"Well we can't fight to the death, but I'll let you borrow it in a sparring match to see how good your swordsman skills are. If you impress me enough then I might just let you have it" Zabuza said. Suigetsu's eyes lit up at the words.

"Really? Thank you senpai! I promise that I won't disappoint and soon that sword will be mine" Suigetsu said.

While everyone was preoccupied with the scene that Haku just caused, Kakashi pulled Sasuke to the side to talk to him.

"So how has everything been with you and Hinata?" The masked ninja asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke looked at the man in confusion as he tried to figure out the true question his sensei was asking.

"We've been fine. We're still together and were still taking care of each other to the best of our abilities" Sasuke replied.

Kakashi nodded. It was good to hear that they were still together and looking out for each other, but that's not what he was asking.

"What I mean is, how was your stay in the Sound? Did you two interact often or did you focus more on training?" Kakashi asked.

"We really focused on training with our respective trainers so we didn't really see each other during the day unless it was a joint training session and those were rare. We did sleep in the same room though, and on the same bed. I wouldn't let anyone try to take advantage of Hinata" Sasuke said still not sure what information Kakashi wanted.

Kakashi gave a nod as if that's what he wanted to hear.

"So you did do 'IT' right? I hope you used the Jutsu because its a little too early to have little Uchiha/Hyuuga hybrids running around the Village" Kakashi said with a smirk.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He now understood exactly what Kakashi was talking about. Sasuke couldn't fight the small blush that was spread on his face.

"We haven't gone that far yet. She offered recently, but I knew she'd be more comfortable if we waited until marriage, so I declined" Sasuke said looking away from his Sensei in slight embarrassment. Kakashi still noticed it.

"Oh that's kind of disappointing but there's no need to be embarrassed, the fact that you are waiting means that you must genuinely love Hinata. Tell me that you at least read the book I gave you" Kakashi said.

Sasuke blushed even darker at that.

"I definitely read it" Sasuke said thinking back to the situation it put him in. He began to tell Kakashi what happened.

XxXxXx

 **Flashback**

Sasuke had just finished a sparring session with Orochimaru. He had lost the match, but the Sannin had to be helped to his room by a medic nin so Sasuke still counted it as a victory.

It was a rare day where Sasuke had finished his training before Hinata did, so she had yet to return from her training with Kabuto. This gave Sasuke alone time to think about things.

His hormones were out of the control, and he didn't know what to do. The first time he'd been through this part of his life he was so focused on revenge that his sex drive was almost nonexistent, but this time he knew the truth about everything. This made Sasuke experience the hormones of a teenager full force and he didn't know how to handle them.

While he was thinking about what to do, he remembered the book that Kakashi gave him before they left the village.

He opened the door to his room and looked outside of his room multiple times to make sure no one was near before he closed the door and locked it. He then went to his bag and pulled out the small book.

"Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 1" Sasuke said reading the title. He shrugged to himself before opening the book and reading the first page.

It was civil enough, just some kissing. It was nothing that Sasuke hasn't already done with Hinata so he wasn't bothered, but when he got to page 7 his head almost exploded.

He had no idea that there were that many positions, or that a woman's body could bend that way, or that clones could be used for sexual purposes. He activated his Sharingan so that he could memorize all of the information the book was giving him.

Sasuke continued to read page after page of the book until he was almost finished. He was so entranced with the book that he didn't hear the door open, or Hinata's footsteps coming towards him. He didn't sense Hinata's presence until she spoke from right next to him.

"What are you reading about?"

Sasuke jumped up, slammed the book shut and threw it to the other end of the room. He then turned to Hinata who had a confused look on her face.

"I just reading about some new jutsu that Orochimaru wanted me to learn by tomorrow" Sasuke lied smoothly hoping that Hinata didn't question it further. Unfortunately for him, Hinata already knew Sasuke far to well for him to be able to lie to her effectively.

"Okay if that's what you want to tell me then fine, but I'm going to read the book to see for myself" Hinata said walking towards the book that was on the floor in the corner.

Sasuke was in front of her faster then she could blink.

"Sorry Hime can't let you do that, Orochimaru said that it was for my eyes only" Sasuke said standing between Hinata and the book.

Now Hinata knew that there was something going on with that book and she was determined to know what it was.

"Sasuke you never care about what Orochimaru says, so please move out of the way and let me see the book" Hinata said looking at Sasuke.

When Sasuke didn't move, Hinata decided to just walk around him, but Sasuke moved in every direction that she did to block her path. Hinata was starting to get annoyed, but over the past year she already knew how to get what she wanted from Sasuke.

She placed her hand on Sasuke's exposed chest and gave him a sly smile that made Sasuke's stomach twist uncomfortably.

Sasuke knew what she was trying to do, and after reading the book Kakashi gave him, he wasn't in the right mindset to calmly deal with her seduction tactics.

' _ **She's playing dirty! You have to stay strong Sasuke, if she reads the book then she's going to think that I'm a pervert or something... If she ever gets up after she faints. I must avoid that at all costs.'**_

With that thought in mind Sasuke tried to put Hinata in a Genjutsu, but he'd done that trick before so Hinata was ready for it. She activated her Byakugan and continued her advances on Sasuke. She mingled their chakra together in a soothing way, making Sasuke's eyes close in satisfaction. He let out a sigh in contentment before his eyes widened in realization.

Hinata had taken the book from behind him and was looking at the cover.

"Icha Icha Paradise? I wonder what this is about" Hinata said as she began to open the book.

It all went in slow motion for Sasuke as he watched in horror as Hinata began to open the book. Sasuke was racking his brain for ways to prevent a disaster, then it came to him. He quickly activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and glared at the book.

" **AMATERASU"**

Hinata shrieked and dropped the book in surprise as black flames consumed the book. She watched as the black flames continued to burn long after the book had been reduced to ashes, and then they were suddenly gone.

She gave Sasuke a confused look as she watched him deactivate his Sharingan. She glared at him before deciding that she had enough of his nonsense. They tell each other everything and that wasn't going to stop over a dumb book.

"Okay now that you have destroyed the book, you are going to tell me exactly what was in the book or I will lock up your chakra points and you will sleep on the floor" Hinata said

She gave a very Sasuke-like smirk when she saw him flinch. She knew that would be torture for him, especially since he liked to cuddle with her while they laid in the bed; Not that he'd ever admit that.

Sasuke thought for a second before sighing in defeat. She'd picked up too many of his bad habits including his sadism. Sleeping on the floor? That just wasn't fair.

"It was basically porn. I was reading it because I was curious as to why Kakashi gave me the book" Sasuke explained. Hinata's face was beet red, and Sasuke was surprised that she hadn't fainted.

"I-I see, so you w-were reading i-it because you w-want to be with m-me like t-that?" Hinata asked stuttering because of her embarrassment.

Sasuke definitely didn't expect her to ask him that. He couldn't help but nod honestly.

"Well maybe not all of the positions, but some of them looked interesting" Sasuke muttered.

"O-Okay maybe we could try them soon" Hinata said surprising Sasuke even more.

He looked at Hinata's face to see if she was serious. Hinata's face was still a dangerous shade of red, but she kept eye contact with Sasuke. Sasuke could feel the blood rushing to his other head and knew that the situation would be out of his control if he didn't diffuse it now.

"I have to take a shower" Sasuke said sprinting into the bathroom full speed and slammed the door shut behind him.

That night he took the coldest shower he'd ever take in his life

 **End Flashback**

XxXxXx

Kakashi was laughing uncontrollably when Sasuke finished telling his story. Sasuke was giving his sensei his best glare, but it wasn't working as he continued to laugh.

After he calmed down, Kakashi pat Sasuke on the head.

"You have so much to learn, and fortunately for you; I'm willing to teach you" Kakashi said.

Sasuke was about to yell at Kakashi, but Naruto interrupted him.

"Hey Bastard we have to go to the Hyuuga Compound to talk to Hiashi. They still have Neji and the other Branch members under the control of the curse seal, so we might have to rough up a few Hyuugas" Naruto said.

"Oh is that so? Well we'll have to do something about that huh Hinata?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Hearing Sasuke's comment, Neji's eyes widened and he looked at his cousin hopefully.

"You found a way to remove the curse seal Hinata-sama?" Neji asked.

"I haven't tried it yet, but I have developed a technique that should be able to remove the curse seal from you" Hinata said.

"So how about it Neji? Wanna be the test subject for an experimental jutsu?" Sasuke asked only to be hit by a chakra infused palm.

"Don't make it sound like that Sasuke. That's not funny" Hinata said as she healed the spot she just hit.

Neji gave a smirk at his friends, before a determined expression reached his face.

"I'll do whatever it takes to be free. No matter the risk" Neji said.

"Alright then, meet us in the Uchiha District. We have to report to the Hokage and then we'll be right there to begin the ritual" Sasuke said.

Neji nodded and made his way to the Uchiha District. Sakura, Naruto and Haku followed him, neither wanting to miss the ritual. Kakashi, Hanare and Zabuza decided to escort Sasuke, Hinata, Gaara and Team Taka to the Hokage Tower.

Sasuke and others entered the Hokage Tower to see that Tsunade downing a bottle of Sake. When she noticed their presence she gave them a small smile.

"Good to see that you two made it back safely. How did your mission go? What is Orochimaru's next move?" Tsunade asked as she pulled out another bottle of Sake from under her desk.

"It was a complete success and as for Orochimaru his whereabouts are currently unknown. A source told me that the Sound Village was destroyed by the Akatsuki, but I think we both know that Orochimaru probably found a way to escape getting destroyed along with it" Sasuke said.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. Orochimaru always finds way to escape death; he was either extremely lucky or extremely hard to kill.

"Okay thank you for completing your mission, do you mind introducing the three people behind you?" Tsunade asked.

"They are Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu. They were Orochimaru's experiments from the Sound Village. They are now apart of a team with us, and they aren't loyal to the Sound Village" Hinata said.

Tsunade looked at them skeptically and then nodded.

"Okay I'll have Ibiki probe their minds to see if they hold any ill will towards the Leaf, and if they pass then I'll allow them residence in the Village" Tsunade said as she told Shizune to get Ibiki.

Suigetsu looked as though he was about to object, but his mouth was covered by Zabuza. He gave him a look that told him to stay quiet, and Suigetsu begrudgingly agreed to stay quiet.

"Good and I didn't expect to see you here Kazekage. What business do you have in the leaf?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara explained the situation about the Akatsuki and how he owed his life to Leaf Shinobi. He also told her about how close he was with Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto, so Tsunade allowed him full access to everything within the village. Soon after that, Ibiki entered the room with his mind probe ready.

"Are they ready?" Tsunade asked.

Sasuke nodded and after Taka had their mind probed they left the office. Sasuke and Hinata were walking hand in hand towards the Uchiha District; unknown to them they were being watched by someone still inside the Hokage Tower.

"How troublesome. Not only did the Uchiha return, but he seemed to have grown even closer to the Hyuuga Heiress. I cannot allow a relationship like this to continue. The children produced from the Union of a Uchiha and Hyuuga will be abnormally powerful. It might lead to the Village's downfall and that's a chance I'm not willing to take" Danzo said to himself as he continued to stare at the couple.

He couldn't voice his complains to the Hokage, because it seemed like Tsunade was fond of the kids, but he knew one other person who could stop such a thing from happening.

With his mind made up, he left his office and the Hokage Tower and began to walk towards the Hyuuga Compound. He had a meeting with Hiashi.

XxXxXx

Inside the Sasuke's house, Sasuke had put a barrier jutsu around his house to keep the rest of the Village oblivious to what was going on.

Neji's body was laying in a circle full of seals that Hinata had created for the ritual of removing his curse seal. Neji's chakra was completely sealed off so that it wouldn't interfere with Hinata's coursing through his body.

"Relax Neji-niisan. You can't be nervous during the ritual or it won't work right" Hinata said trying to soothe her cousin. Neji frowned at Hinata accusing him to be nervous.

"I'm not nervous Hinata-sama, I just can't wait for this seal to be removed" Neji said stubbornly.

Hinata sighed and signaled for Sakura to help her. Sakura nodded and went to sit next to Neji's body. Neji looked at Sakura who gave him her brightest smile. Neji couldn't help but smile back as he relaxed his body.

Hinata smiled and began to concentrate her Chakra into Neji's forehead focusing on the same part of the brain where the seal resided. She went to work on unraveling the the chakra keeping the seal in place, but it was stubborn and wouldn't budge. It would fade one moment and then come back a second later. That could only mean 1 thing; whoever placed the seal had more chakra then Hinata did.

Hinata was worried about that ever since she read that line in the scroll. She had hoped that she was strong enough, but she wasn't. She withdrew her chakra with tears in her eyes. She felt like she failed her cousin and it hurt.

Neji noticed the pain in Hinata's eyes along with the unshed tears and understood.

"It's not your fault Hinata-sama you tried your best and that's all I could ask you for. Thank you" Neji said smiling.

Naruto looked at the scene in confusion. He didn't understand why Hinata suddenly stopped when it seemed like she was about to remove the seal. He saw that it was fading, but wouldn't completely go away.

"What happened Hinata? Why didn't it go away completely?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked down in shame as she told Naruto the truth.

"I didn't have enough chakra to remove it. It was placed by someone who is stronger than me, probably my father, so I can't remove it" Hinata said.

Naruto smiled brightly confusing everyone in the room. Neji frowned as was about to yell at Naruto, but Naruto spoke before Neji got the chance to.

"If that's all then it won't be a problem. The seal will be off Neji right away" Naruto said as he was suddenly covered in a yellow orangish chakra.

Everyone stared at Naruto in surprise. His chakra flared up to indescribable levels. Kakashi lifted his headband up to see the new transformation's chakra flow better, and Sasuke rolled his eyes before he smirked at his best friend's power.

' _ **Of course he found a way to unlock his powers just as early as I did. Looks like he's still my ultimate rival'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Naruto what is that form?" Gaara asked looking in amazement at the power radiating from him.

"Oh it's my Bijuu mode. Kurama shares his chakra with me to make me much stronger than I normally am. We get along well now even though he's still a grumpy fox sometimes" Naruto said.

"Can we do that?" Gaara asked in his mind to Shukaku.

" **We could if you trusted me"** Shukaku growled back at Gaara.

"We'll practice it later" Gaara replied back to the Tailed Beast before cutting off the connection.

"That's incredible Naruto, but how does that help me?" Hinata said

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder and then removed it. Hinata was about to ask him what he did, but before she could she was covered in a red aura. Hinata looked down at her hands feeling her chakra increase at least 3x over.

"Kurama just shared some chakra with you too, so now you should have more than enough to remove the seal, even if Hiashi was the one who placed it" Naruto said with a thumbs up.

A bright smile made it's way on to her face. She immediately went back to trying to remove the curse seal from Neji. Her chakra once again entered through his forehead and the reached the part of the brain the seal occupied, but this time it was easily unraveled. Hinata sent a burst of chakra through Neji's head to ended up destroying the seal completely.

Everyone in the room watched as the seal disappeared from Neji's forehead. They all began to cheer for their friend's freedom. Even Taka had smiles on their faces at the scene.

"I'm done" Hinata said with a smile looking at her cousin. Naruto nodded and powered down from his Bijuu form.

Hinata unblocked Neji's chakra points and helped him up so that he could look in a mirror. Neji saw his reflection and smiled the most genuine smile anyone had ever scene from him. He turned and gave Hinata a tight hug.

"Thank you Hinata-sama. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to you for doing this for me. I'm finally free and I will forever be in your debt" Neji said with tears in his eyes threatening to fall.

"Does that mean you're forever in my debt too, because I kinda did help" Naruto said. Neji rolled his eyes before turning to his friend.

"I'll buy you Ramen anytime you want for the next month" Neji said knowing that that was probably all he could afford before he went broke.

Naruto's eyes lit up in excitement at that. Now that the ritual was over, Sasuke removed the barrier from around his house.

"Now that the ritual is over and Neji's cursed seal has been removed; I think it's time to head to the Hyuuga Compound." Sasuke said.

Some nodded in agreement while others had other things that they were interested in doing.

"I'll see you guys later, I have to go to the flower shop" Gaara said while walking away so no one could tease him for his comment.

Sasuke watched Gaara leave with a knowing smirk on his face.

"We'll pass too. I promised to show the brat the Executioner's Blade and he won't stop bugging me until I do" Zabuza said with Suigetsu nodding furiously behind him. Karin and Juugo decided to go with Suigetsu to make sure the white haired ninja wouldn't get into trouble.

After they left, Sasuke looked around the room to see who was left of their group. He was surprised that Kakashi and Hanare stayed, but he wasn't upset by it at all.

"Alright is this the group that's heading to the Hyuuga Compound?" Sasuke asked. When everyone nodded, Sasuke made his way towards the door only to have it slammed open revealing a blue haired man with bright green eyes.

Everyone was instantly on high alert until Sasuke noticed the purple fingernail polish the man was wearing. Calming down Sasuke addressed the others.

"Relax guys it's only Itachi" Sasuke said shocking everyone and making the man smile.

"Maybe you're not as foolish as I thought you were Sasuke. I'm curious to know how you realized that it was me with my transformation jutsu" Itachi said

When Sasuke smirked, Itachi knew that he wasn't going to like the answer his brother was going to give him, but Sasuke blurted it out before Itachi could change the subject.

"It's because you're always wearing purple nail polish. Your the only guy I know that wears nail polish" Sasuke said causing the other males in the room to chuckle.

Itachi frowned. There was a story behind why he wore the nail polish. He does it to honor the memory of Izumi Uchiha, not that any of them knew who she was. He glared at Naruto, Neji and Kakashi, shutting the trio up.

"Hmm I see, Well great observation. Where are you all heading to now? I got the message you gave me and I'm glad that you've taken my advice and waited for me to arrive" Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded and explained to Itachi that he and Hinata had found a way to remove the cursed seals from the Hyuuga Branch members and that they were going to tell Hiashi to end the Branch System. Itachi thought over information before sighing to himself.

"I'll support you if that's what you want to do, but you must know that the Caste System has been the Hyuuga way for generations. If you destroy that now than the Branch House could revolt against the Main House. You'd cause a Civil War within the Largest and second most powerful clan in Konoha" Itachi said logically.

"Second most powerful?" Neji asked out loud feeling slightly offended.

"We Uchiha are far superior to the Hyuuga in both looks and power... Well besides Hinata. She looks better than any Uchiha female around my age that I've seen so she's the only exception to the rule" Sasuke said smirking at Neji who glared back.

"Anyways, What I'm trying to say is that we should think about this more carefully, if we go in there making demands then there's a chance that we'll only make things worse" Itachi said.

The room was quiet for a moment as everyone thought over the best course of action. Of course Naruto was the first to speak his mind.

"I'll just go tell Hiashi that the Caste System is done and if anyone disagrees, or tries to start a fight then I'll kick their ass" Naruto said.

He didn't give no one anytime to think his words over as he left the house as soon as he finished speaking.

"Well guess we go with Naruto's plan for now. There aren't any Hyuuga powerful enough to defeat all of us together, so force seems like a great option" Haku said.

"You've been spending too much time with the Idiot. You're usually more sensible than this" Neji said. Haku just shrugged and walked out after Naruto.

Nobody else had any other ideas so they decided that they'd just wing it. Haku was right, there were no Hyuuga strong enough to take own their combined might.

The walk to the Hyuuga Compound was short and the guards at the gate let them in with minimal hesitancy. They were happy that Hinata and Sasuke were back so they allowed them to go right in, no questions asked.

The group made their way to Hiashi's study where they knew that he and Hizashi would be. Hinata knocked on the door before opening it and everyone was surprised to see who was in the room drinking a cup of tea.

"What timing. Come children we were just discussing your future" said the man. The same man that made Sasuke and Itachi's blood boil.

Seeing that Sasuke was physically unable to speak, Kakashi chose to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What are you doing here... Danzo"

XxXxXx

Jiraiya was in a tough situation.

He had found out that his information was correct and that the Akatsuki leader was in fact stationed in Amekagure. The people here worshipped him as if he was a God, but that wasn't the craziest thing. The thing that put Jiraiya in a tough situation is that the leader of the Akatsuki was one of his former students.

He was currently standing in front of them, and he could feel the chakra swirling around in the air. Jiraiya knew that this would turn into a fight, and he was also aware that his chances of survival were slim to none, but that didn't matter. All that mattered is that he found a way to defeat him.

"Why do you look so surprised Jiraiya-sensei? Didn't you train us to change the world for the better? In order to do that, the whole world has to share our pain" the Deva Path said.

"Yahiko what happened to you, and why do you have Nagato's eyes? You were a good kid, and you always wanted to change the world for the better. Now you're terrorizing the 5 Great Nations" Jiraiya said.

"You've been gone for a long time sensei, so you missed quite a bit. There is no more Yahiko, only Pein"

After that the 5 paths attacked Jiraiya at once with Konan providing paper bombs for support. Jiraiya quickly summoned 4 warrior toads to help him fight the Pein's but that idea was thwarted as one of the Pein's summoned a 3 headed dog.

Seeing that the Pein was off guard Jiraya tried to take advantage of the blind spot

" **FIRESTLYE: BIG FLAME BULLET JUTSU"**

A massive wall of fire aimed right for the unsuspecting Path, but another jumped in the way and absorbed the whole jutsu.

Jiraiya looked on in surprise, but it didn't last long as he had to dodge a hit from the Deva path. Knowing that he had to Take this fight more seriously he summoned Fukasaku and Shima the 2 Great Toad Sages.

"What is it Jiraiya-boy? What did you get yourself into that requires our help?" Fukasaku or 'Pa' asked from Jiraiya's right shoulder.

"Can't talk right now hold on" Jiraiya said dodging another attack.

" **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU"**

15 Jiraiya's surrounded the Paths Of Pein and attacked simultaneously. They were easily disposed off, but they gave Jiraiya the distraction that he needed to get away from their line of vision.

Jiraiya may not have been a genius, but he noticed that the different Paths of Pein shared vision with their Rinnegan, and he could also tell that the Path with Yahiko's body was vastly superior than the rest.

"I need to go into Sage Mode if I want to have a chance against them" Jiraiya said.

Pa scoffed. It was such a shame that Jiraiya wasn't as naturally talented in Sage jutsu as his pupil Naruto was. The boy learned Sage mode perfectly after just 2 weeks on Mount Myoboku, while Jiraiya still needed him and Ma to sustain it for more than 5 minutes.

"Okay Jiraiya-boy" Pa said as he and Ma focused their nature energy into Jiraiya letting him use Sage mode and not a moment too soon as the Pein's had found him.

"Mind lending me some oil and wind to stoke the flame?" Jiraiya asked.

Ma and Pa nodded and spit out oil and wind while Jiraiya provided the fire. Soon the hallway was consumed in a blazing hot fire.

Jiraiya stopped the Jutsu when he thought that he'd defeated at least 2 of the Paths, but he was instantly on guard when he felt a shift in the air.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH"**

He barely had time to cover up Ma and Pa with his own body as the entire base was blown apart.

Jiraiya twitched as one of the paths got near his injured body. Jiraiya smirked when he realized that he was alone. This was his chance to dispose of one of them.

" **TOAD GOURD PRISON"**

Jiraiya said as he pulled the Animal Path into the Toad's stomach and trapped him there alone with him. Jiraiya quickly hit the path with a Massive Rasengan to severely hurt it.

Jiraiya used most of his chakra with that one technique and he knew that he wouldn't survive the rest of the fight, but he also found out some valuable information about how to deal with the rest of the Pein's. With this information, Naruto would be able to deal with the rest of them.

Jiraiya was about to leave the Toad's stomach when the Animal Path suddenly sat up and stabbed a rod through Jiraiya's shoulder. Jiraiya reacted quickly and buried a kunai in its brain right between his eyes.

Jiraiya sat down for a minute to catch his breath. Ma and Pa looked at him with worried expressions, but Jiraiya just gave them both a smile.

"Ma you can go, I don't want you getting hurt here. Pa you can go too, but I have to inscribe a message on your back along with the secrets to defeat Pein. Make sure this gets to Tsunade, also make sure she gets this body so that they can study it" Jiraiya said as he used his chakra to burn a message into Pa's back.

Ma nodded and disappeared, while Pa stayed and stared.

"What are you going to do Jiraiya-boy?" Pa asked.

"I'm probably going to die here, but I'm sure as hell going to go down fighting. Just make sure to get this information to Konoha, and also my final wish is to let my Godson Naruto know that he's the one I want to inherit my will" Jiraiya said with a bright smile and thumbs up.

Pa didn't have time to say anything else as Jiraiya left out of the safety of the Toad's stomach. Pa shook his head solemnly and disappeared to do as Jiraiya had asked, and left to inform the Village of his demise.

Once he was outside he was ambushed by the remaining 4 Paths of Pein. They all stabbed 4 rods into his back. Jiraiya coughed up blood as he was pinned to a rock by those rods.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this sensei but you're sacrifice will not be in vain. I'll make sure that the rest of the world feels your pain" the Deva Path said as he kicked Jiraiya's body into the water and watched as it begin to sink for a moment before turning to the remaining paths.

"We're low on numbers right now, but we are heading to Konoha to collect the 9 Tails Jinchuuriki. If necessary I'll use my ultimate technique, but we'll be leaving immediately" The Deva Path said

The rest of the Paths nodded and they left the area.

Jiraiya was sinking with a smile on his face. He was thinking about his life and he knew that he had no regrets. He lived to the fullest and he thought that he did everything that he could've done as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village.

He was thinking about the title for his next book as he felt the remains of his chakra fade from his body. He thought he felt the water shift, but that didn't matter to him.

He felt something grab his body and pull him upwards. That was the last thing that was on Jiraiya's mind as the air left his lungs and everything went black.

XxXxXx

Danzo looked Kakashi before turning his eye towards Sasuke and Hinata. The action made Sasuke openly frown at the man.

"I was talking to Hiashi about canceling this little engagement between the Heiress and the last Uchiha. I have expressed concerns about how the theoretical child will be far too dangerous to be allowed to live" Danzo said.

Sasuke's Sharingan flared instantly and everyone noticed the chakra swirling around Sasuke.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You have no say about my future or who I decide to have kids with" Sasuke said in a low dangerous voice. Danzo didn't seem to be intimidated by Sasuke's shift in tone.

"The Uchiha were such an emotional clan. That's probably why your brother did what he did. He was probably tired of hearing them complain and whine all the time" Danzo said drinking the rest of his tea.

Itachi stiffened next to Sasuke and Kakashi grabbed him to keep him from lunging at Danzo.

"SHUT UP! IF YOU KEEP TALKING TO SASUKE LIKE THAT I'LL KICK YOUR ASS" Naruto yelled at Danzo.

"You are the village orphan that nobody cares for. The one who will never be acknowledged as anything other than a demon vessel" Danzo replied

Neji had enough of Danzo's crude remarks, so he stepped forward.

"You're speaking to my friends like you have a death wish. In fact, I believe that it is your destiny to die Danzo, right here, right now" Neji said activating his Byakugan in anger, but he paled at what he saw.

"W-What is t-this. WHY THE FUCK ARE THEIR SHARINGAN ON YOUR ARM?" Neji screamed at Danzo.

Hiashi, Hizashi and Hinata all activated their Byakugans to see the gruesome sight on his arm. They all paled and Hiashi instantly stood up.

"Answer the boy's question Danzo. Explain why there are Sharingan on your arm" Hiashi said calmly even though he was seething with rage on the inside.

"They weren't being used by the corpses in the ground, so I decided that I would make good use of them" Danzo said as if it was obvious.

That was the last straw for Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi released his transformation jutsu and Kakashi let Sasuke go. Together the 2 brothers attacked Danzo.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"**

Danzo was blasted through the wall and soon the group were surrounded by hundreds of masked ninja similar to the Anbu. Kakashi recognized them as Danzo's Root shinobi.

"Seems like I made an error in judgement. I should've known the day would come that Itachi would turn against the Village and tell Sasuke the truth, but I guess it all works out." Danzo started as he looked around at the faces of Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Hanare, Naruto, Haku and the Hyuugas before smirking and removing the bandages from his arm revealing the many Sharingan on his arm.

"After today the Uchiha Clan will be **extinct** " Danzo said as he gave the order to attack, and all hell broke loose.

 **TBC**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you! And they didn't meet up in Ame... but I'm sure you figured out what happened. And you're right. The Danzo fight has come**

 **Tg1ubvme- That's the vibe I'm getting too. We'll just have to see**

 **Thank you for everyone who reads and reviews every chapter. Please continue to give me feedback on how I can make the story better. I'm always open for improvement - Dishon 3**


	22. Danzo's Downfall

**Chapter 22**

Gaara allowed a small smile to show on his face as he entered the Yamanaka Flower shop. It had been awhile since he had seen Ino in person because of his duties as Kazekage, and while the letters were nice, Gaara was excited to see her beautiful face again.

However, the site that greeted Gaara was one that he hadn't prepared for.

Ino was standing at the desk with a smile on her face, as Gaara had expected, but sitting on the desk was a pale teenager with black hair and half a shirt. He looked like a cheap version of Sasuke, and Gaara would've laughed at the comparison if he hadn't seen what the man had in his hands.

It was a well drawn picture of a rose and he was presenting it to Ino, who took it from the man happily.

" **He's trying to take your mate from you. We should kill him"** Shukaku suggested in Gaara's mind. Gaara frowned and his chakra flared around him.

Both Ino and the teenagers head quickly turned towards Gaara when they felt the hostile chakra the Kage was displaying, but when Ino saw Gaara, her eyes lit up in excitement as she ran to hug him.

"Gaara when did you get here? You've gotten taller and even more handsome" Ino said with a wink, but when she noticed that Gaara's sand was still whipping around him she looked up to see that Gaara was still glaring at Sai.

Putting two and two together she let a sly smile show on her face as she grabbed Gaara's hand.

That successfully switched his attention over to her, and he gave her a small smile too. Sai's eyebrow twitched slightly but it was so fast that no one seemed to notice.

"Hello Ino, I wanted to see you so I came to the village. I wasn't expecting you to have company" Gaara said as he once again looked over at Sai.

Ino sighed and figured that she better introduce the two men before a misunderstanding turns into a blood bath.

"This is Sai. He just became a member of Team 7 last week and he was here because I'm currently the only one who doesn't want to kill him. Sai, this is Gaara, he's the Kazekage" Ino explained.

The two just stared at each other for a moment before Sai got off the counter and started to walk towards Gaara.

"It's nice to finally meet you Kazekage-sama. Pretty Lady has told me much about you" Sai said as he gave Gaara one of his patented creepy smiles and extended his hand.

Ino paled at the nickname. She was flattered by it, but she didn't know how Gaara would react to Sai calling her that. She looked at Gaara who clinched his fist. Ino immediately began to try to soothe him.

"Don't mind that Gaara. Sai gives all of his friends nicknames he doesn't mean anything by it" Ino said squeezing Gaara's hand.

"Is that so? Well his nickname for you is very accurate, but I don't like him saying it." Gaara said grumbling as he shook Sai's hand. Hearing this, Sai looked at Gaara in confusion.

"You are weird Kazekage-sama. You agree that she is a pretty lady, but you don't like me acknowledging it. That is very strange; are you perhaps experiencing the emotion of jealousy?" Sai asked.

Gaara felt the strong urge to Sand Coffin the man for that comment. He hasn't felt the urge to kill someone this strongly since before Sasuke befriended him.

"Jealousy? What are you trying to imply?" Gaara said in a extremely low voice with Sand whirling around him. The tension in the air was thicker than Lee's eyebrows.

Feeling the shift in the air Sai took out his scroll and sword in case he had to defend himself.

" **He made the first move, now we can kill him with minimal consequences"** Shukaku said. Gaara smirked and raised his hand, making the other man tense. Ino frowned and got in Gaara's face causing him to drop his hand.

"Stop that. He doesn't really understand emotion, and he was just making an observation because the way you are acting right now is a common sign of jealousy. Calm down and don't start a pointless fight" Ino said seriously before smiling and continuing.

"Besides you said that you were here to see me. Let's not have our first time seeing each other in years be ruined with fighting" Ino said.

Gaara looked at Ino before looking at Sai one time and scoffing.

"Fine I guess I was showing jealous tendencies, but you can't really blame me. I came here expecting to just see you, but he was here too giving you hand drawn rose sketches" Gaara grumbled to himself as swallowed his nervousness and hugged Ino.

Ino hugged back and blushed. She had missed Gaara, but his status as Kazekage intimidated her a little bit, not that she'd ever admit something like that. Every time she would think about a future with Gaara; she'd be reminded that he was a Kage of an entire village.

Sai looked at the two for a moment before a look of understanding adorned his face. He frowned slightly before his face returned to the fake smile he always wore.

"I wasn't aware that Ino had a boyfriend. I apologize for my behavior Kazekage-sama" Sai said surprising both Ino and Gaara. At the other man's apology, Gaara began to feel a little regretful for treating him the way he treated him. He genuinely seemed to have no idea.

"No need to apologize Sai, I was the one acting irresponsibly" Gaara said.

"You sure were" Ino added causing Gaara to give her a look. She shrugged it off and smiled at the two men.

"Now that that's out of the way, how about we go get some food?" Ino suggested.

Gaara and Sai looked at each other with a weary look, but before either could answer a loud explosion was heard. The shinobi all ran outside to see smoke in the distance.

"It looks like it's coming from the Hyuuga Compound" Ino said worriedly.

' _ **The Hyuuga Compound? That's where Sasuke and the others are, they must be fighting'**_ Gaara thought.

' _ **The Hyuuga Compound is the place that Lord Danzo said he was going to visit. If he's being attacked I have to go help'**_ Sai thought.

"Ino I'm going to see what's going on. Get your teammates and join me, I think it's Sasuke and the others" Gaara said. Ino's eyes widened in surprise before she nodded and went to get her team.

Gaara turned to say something to Sai but he was already gone. Gaara didn't give it much thought as he jumped onto the nearest rooftop and moved as fast as he could to get to the Hyuuga Compound. He had a feeling that the result of this battle wound shake the foundation of Leaf Village.

Gaara knew it wasn't his place, but his friends were involved, so he would do everything in his power to make sure their side won.

" **Finally we get some action. I'm ready to go wild"** Shukaku said.

Gaara nodded in agreement as he made his way over to the battlefield, ready to assist in the battle.

XxXxXx

Kunai's clashed and many Jutsu's were being thrown around as Sasuke and the others fought with Danzo and his Root shinobi. The Hyuuga shinobi had heard the explosion and have come to help fight against Root when they saw that Hiashi and Hinata were attacking them.

Random Konoha shinobi had shown up, but they didn't know who's side to join so they preoccupied themselves with getting the nearby civilians to safety.

Sasuke looked around him and saw the endless sea of Root Shinobi that had surrounded him and isolated him from the group. He didn't any of them personally, but he thought that it'd be fair to give them a warning.

"Look I don't know why you work for someone as twisted as Danzo, but how about you get out of my way and leave this fight? If you do that then I promise that you'll live to see another day" Sasuke suggested.

When a kunai was flung at him Sasuke sighed in annoyance as he dodged it. He then glared at the person who threw it with his Sharingan active.

"Can't say I didn't warn you" Sasuke said as he unsheathed Kusanagi and let his electric chakra course through the blade.

He then attacked cutting through multiple shinobi's bodies like butter. When he was done he buried his sword in the ground to clean the blood off unaware that someone managed to survive his onslaught.

The shinobi with the dog mask aimed a kunai at the back of Sasuke's head, but he was attacked before he could throw it.

" **AMATERASU"**

Sasuke heard screams and turned around to see the ninja being burned alive by the black flames. He looked up to see Itachi shaking his head at him.

"Don't turn your head in a fight Sasuke. These aren't mediocre shinobi. These are Root nin that were trained their entire childhood by Danzo. His twisted ideals are imprinted in their heads and they fight until they are dead regardless of what kind of wounds they receive" Itachi said.

"Scold me when this is over. Has Danzo used Izanagi yet?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to ask how Sasuke knew about that technique, but Sasuke beat him too it.

"I'll explain everything later, just answer me" Sasuke said.

Itachi looked at Sasuke skeptically before nodding and answering his question.

"Naruto had killed Danzo once, Kakashi has killed him once and I killed him once. He still has 4 active Sharingan on his arm and Shisui's right eye. We have to remove the remaining Sharingan and find a way to damage Shisui's eye so that he doesn't use Kotoamatsukami" Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded, then out of the corner of his eye he saw Kakashi Chidori a Root shinobi through his heart. Sasuke then got an idea that would make defeating Danzo significantly easier.

"I have a plan and if it works we'll defeat him in no time, but I need you to do something for me" Sasuke said.

Itachi raised his eyebrow signifying that he was listening. Sasuke pointed in a random direction behind him, but didn't speak. Itachi turned to see Hinata surrounded by a group of Root Shinobi.

She was fighting them all valiantly, but it was apparent that she didn't want to kill them. The Root nin were using that to their advantage and they were slowly beginning to overwhelm the Heiress.

Watching this, Itachi understood what Sasuke was asking him to do. He looked at his brother with a look of understanding, but internally Itachi was surprised.

His little brother trusted him enough to protect his future wife, and Itachi couldn't help but be amazed. He had taken the life away from their old family, yet Sasuke was still trusting him with the matriarch of his future family. Itachi didn't think that he deserved this much trust, but he wasn't going to waste it.

Itachi nodded and flickered off to help Hinata deal with her opponents. Now that Sasuke knew that Hinata would be safe he went to talk to his teacher about his new plan.

XxXxXx

Hinata was running out of options as she dodged endless attacks from the Root Shinobi.

She had tried every non lethal technique that she had in her arsenal and Danzo's subordinates were still attacking her with the same ferocity that they started with.

She knew that it would be easier to kill them, but she didn't want to kill them for something that wasn't their fault. She was convinced that they didn't know the atrocities that Danzo committed. They were just following orders and protecting their leader.

Hinata winced in pain as a kunai sliced a gash in her abdomen. It was bleeding, but it was mostly a superficial wound for the Heiress. However, she didn't want to make it a habit to get hit.

She caught a fist sent from a monkey masked root ninja and quickly drained his chakra to dangerously low levels before jumping back to avoid a slash from another ninjas sword that pierced through the first nins chest.

Hinata was disgusted by the ninja's willingness to kill their comrades to attack her, but she couldn't dwell on it as she continued to dodge multiple attacks.

With her Byakugan activated she could see attacks coming from all angles. At least that's what she thought until she felt something sharp pierce the nape of her neck. She let out a shriek of surprise and pain before she reached back to remove a senbon that had stuck into her neck.

She didn't see it coming and that thought scared her. She remembered her father telling her something about a blind spot in the Byakugan, but she didn't know where it was until now.

She had to do everything in her power to prevent the enemy from finding it. It wouldn't be bad for just her, but her entire family if the shinobi knew where to attack.

A group of Shinobi closed in on her and tried to attack her, but she didn't want to take any chances, so she spun as fast as she could while expelling her chakra.

" **ROTATION"**

Hinata managed to knock that group back only to be attack by more ninja. Her eyes widened when she felt the wind shift violently behind her. Her Byakugan showed her that their was a ninja behind her with a sword aimed at her heart. She knew that she'd be too slow too completely dodge it, so she moved to the side and tensed as she waited for the blow that never came.

She looked back in surprise to see that the Root Shinobi's arm was being held roughly by Itachi. The glare that he gave the man with his Mangekyou Sharingan even scared Hinata a little bit.

"W-wait. I w-was just following orders. D-Don't kill me!" The man pleaded with Itachi while trying to discreetly reach for his hidden kunai. Itachi rolled his eyes at the obvious tactic before he spoke.

"Attacking Hinata was a mistake, and I'm afraid it's a mistake punishable by death" Itachi said as he dodged the man's pathetic attempt of catching him off guard.

He then took the man's kunai from the man and used his own momentum to impale him throw the throat killing him instantly. Hinata didn't look away from the gruesome scene, but it made her uncomfortable.

"Thank you for helping me out Itachi" Hinata said walking up to him.

Itachi turned to her with a kind smile on his face and nodded. Then he noticed that Hinata was looking at the corpse of the shinobi who have been killed during the battle with a regretful look. Itachi realized that he and Hinata had something in common, so Itachi thought that it'd be best to try to rationalize with her.

"I don't like killing either, and I wish that it didn't have to happen, but it's necessary in order to obtain peace. Don't worry Sasuke said that he has a plan that should end this soon. Just fight a little longer Hinata" Itachi said.

Hinata took a deep breath and nodded as a fierce look entered her eyes. Now that she knew that Sasuke had a plan to end things quickly, she decided that she should be strong enough to do her role; even if taking lives were necessary.

Itachi looked at Hinata's determined expression for a moment before smirking and turning to the battlefield where shinobi were still fighting.

"Shall we re-join the battle?" Itachi asked.

Hinata nodded and let electric chakra course through her body until it coated her hands. Together, Itachi and Hinata attacked the remaining Root Shinobi.

XxXxXx

Sasuke made it to Kakashi who was breathing kind of heavily from the constant fighting. He was by no means tired or out of the fight, but his chakra reserves were significantly lower than Sasuke's own, so the Uchiha knew that in order for his plan to work he'd have to start it now.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke for moment before dodging an attack. Spinning quickly, he stabbed the Root shinobi between his rib cage putting him out of commission. Kakashi kicked the body away so that he could bleed to death away from them.

"What's wrong Sasuke? Getting tired already?" Kakashi asked teasing his student.

"No, but I can see that you are, so I'll just cut to the chase. I have a plan that would make defeating Danzo significantly easier" Sasuke said.

Kakashi's eyes flickered over to the village elder that was currently fighting Hiashi and Hizashi. He had impaled the man with a Chidori, but he was somehow still fighting strong. He didn't know how the made did it, but the mask nin knew that Sasuke had a clue about how to fight it.

"Alright fill me in" Kakashi said.

"Are you capable of activating your Mangekyou?" Sasuke asked him.

Kakashi focused his chakra into his eye trying to get his Sharingan to change, but all it succeeded in doing was giving him a headache.

"Nope. I think I used too much chakra for that" Kakashi said.

Sasuke cursed and thought of a way to adjust his plan to work around this, but that's when the answer hit him. Literally.

Naruto had been sent flying and had crashed into Sasuke. The ninja that sent him flying was now looming over them with his sword raised with the intention of piercing both Sasuke and Naruto.

Kakashi was about to intervene to save his two students, but his assistance wasn't needed as Senbon pierced through several of the shinobi's vital points in his neck.

The three team 7 members looked up to see Haku glaring at the dead nin's corpse. Sasuke and Kakashi sweat dropped while Naruto thanked her with a giant smile on his face. Haku nodded and flickered off to fight more Root ninja.

Sasuke slapped the back of Naruto's head after she left. Naruto flinched in pain before turning around and glaring at Sasuke.

"What was that for Teme!? That hurt" Naruto complained while rubbing the back of his head.

"How did you get sent flying from Shinobi like these. You should be far superior to this level of fighters" Sasuke said still upset that he had been crashed into.

"I let my guard down and he got a lucky hit. He was never actually going to hurt us because either one of us could've stopped him easily" Naruto said shrugging.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his best friend before his eyes widened in realization.

"Naruto, why don't you share your chakra with Kakashi? I need him to do something for me" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked at Sasuke dumbly for a moment. Then he slapped himself in the face in realization.

"I'm such an idiot" Naruto said.

Both Sasuke and Kakashi nodded their heads in agreement, but they didn't voice their opinions as Naruto continued talking.

"I could've been sharing my Chakra with everyone this entire time" Naruto said as he activated his Kyuubi mode.

" **I was telling you that the whole time, but you've been ignoring me"** Kurama said exasperated.

Naruto decided to ignore the fox, as he focused on his friends and coated them in Kurama's chakra. Everyone looked on in surprise as they were covered in a Red Aura.

Suddenly the tide of the battle was swinging heavily in favor of the Hyuugas and the others. Root shinobi were all starting to get pushed back, but Sasuke also saw that Danzo was starting to get more desperate as Hiashi and Hizashi attacked him with renewed tenacity.

This meant they had little time before he would resort to using the ultimate Genjutsu in Shisui's Mangekyou. They couldn't allow that to happen.

"Kakashi I need you to activate your Mangekyou now and use Kamui on Danzo's arm. That should eliminate the Sharingan there, and while he's confused over that I'll speed over there and pierce through the eye hiding behind the bandage and his brain while I'm at it" Sasuke ordered as he activated his own Mangekyou and let his electric chakra course through Kusanagi as he prepared himself to speed forward.

Kakashi activated his Mangekyou and focused on Danzo's arm filled with the stolen Sharingan.

" **KAMUI"**

Danzo looked down in surprise as his arm was being forcibly removed from his body by an invisible force. He was so distracted that Hiashi and Hizashi both managed to land damaging blows on him that significantly drained his chakra. Danzo thought that things couldn't be going any worse for him, but when he blinked Sasuke was suddenly right in front of him with his sword radiating lightning chakra and he was poised to strike.

Sasuke smirked as he saw Danzo's face pale when he saw him. He thrusted his sword forward to kill Danzo.

At that moment Sai jumped in front of Danzo in an effort to save him. His sword was lifted in to block Sasuke's, but he hadn't anticipated Sasuke's lightning chakra enhancing his sword.

Sasuke's Kusanagi effortless broke Sai's sword and went clean through Sai's chest in order to pierce Danzo's stolen eye.

Everyone turned to see what had happened. Kakashi, Hanare, Naruto, Sakura, Neji and Haku were surprised to see that Sasuke had impaled Sai through the chest.

"SAI!" They screamed as Sasuke pulled his sword out of his body.

"Why did you get in the way like that?" Sasuke asked him, while holding him up.

"We were taught to protect Lord Danzo by any means necessary. As much as I'd like it if he was killed, I wasn't able to just watch it happen. My body moved on its own and now here we are" Sai said with a creepy smile before he coughed up blood and lost consciousness.

Sasuke looked at the man for a moment before letting him go and letting gravity do it's job.

Sasuke frowned at the man's body that hit the ground. He should be healable since he had missed his heart. He vaguely remembered him as his replacement for the team, but he didn't necessarily feel bad for stabbing through the man. It was his own fault for trying to save Danzo.

Speaking of Danzo, he was now covering his eye with his only available hand. Sasuke may not of been able to kill him, but he was able to make sure he couldn't use Shisui's eye so at least that was a positive. Sasuke was still furious that he wasn't dead though.

Seeing their leaders distress the remaining Root Shinobi abandoned their rights only to be subdued by Naruto clones all covered in Kyuubi Chakra.

Sakura ran over to heal Sai who was still unconscious and quickly losing blood. Everyone else joined Sasuke's side and stared at Danzo, who had just made it back to his feet.

Danzo was realized that he was out of options. Not only had his right arm been taken from him, but Shisui's Sharingan had been cut and now he couldn't use it; Not to mention the fact that Hiashi and Hizashi managed to block his destroy his chakra pathways. He was now vulnerable and fighting a battle that he had no hopes of winning.

Surveying the battlefield and seeing that his remaining Root Shinobi had all been pinned, Danzo glared at Sasuke who glared back with equal intensity.

"Now that you have me like this what do you plan on doing?" Danzo asked spitting blood on the ground.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill you" Sasuke said with his Sharingan blazing dangerously.

Sasuke was aware that his friends were all giving him looks, but he didn't care at the moment. He was finally getting his revenge on Danzo, so he could deal with being looked at as a monster.

"You kill me? Haha you foolish child. As if I'd allow such a thing" Danzo said ripping the rest if his shirt away and trying to gather the necessary chakra for his suicide attack.

Sasuke remembered this attack well and cursed himself for not planning for it, but before Danzo could finish the preparations for his attack he was grabbed.

" **SAND COFFIN"**

Sasuke smirked at Gaara for his great timing. Now that Danzo was trapped in Gaara's sand he had no way of activating his 'Reverse Tetragram Sealing Jutsu'.

"What is the Kazekage doing here and why is he helping you?" Danzo asked gritting his teeth.

He was now completely at the mercy of the Uchiha in front of him. The Kazekage's interference was unexpected and he had no way of escaping from the Sand Prison. He was helpless and beaten.

"You're not really in the position to be asking questions Danzo. Now you'll have to answer for all of your sins" Itachi said.

"Sins? Everything I did was for the betterment of the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm sure you understand since you massacred your family on my orders. My only regret was agreeing to let Sasuke live. I knew it would comeback to bite me one day, but I ignored my common sense in order to do you a favor" Danzo said.

Sasuke had enough of the conversation and he was getting ready to put an end to Danzo permanently, but Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from advancing.

Sasuke glared back at Kakashi without saying a thing, but Kakashi knew that Sasuke wanted to explain his reasoning for stopping him.

"Think about it Sasuke, Danzo is still an elder in the village, so if you just kill him right here and now you'll likely face a trial and be labeled as a rouge nin. Even with the rest of us here to vouch for you its unlikely that you'll escape a punishment" Kakashi said.

Sasuke knew that he was right, but at the moment he wasn't thinking clearly, so he didn't really care about his teacher's words.

"I could care less what this village plans to do to me after I kill this Shit bag. I'm doing everyone a favor whether they like it or not" Sasuke said as he shrugged Kakashi off and continued to advance forward towards Danzo. Hiashi chose that moment to speak up.

"I can certainly understand why you want to kill Danzo after what he ordered your brother to do to your clan, and after seeing the stolen Sharingan on his arm, I myself would like nothing more than to end this monsters life. However, if you do so there will be consequences. If you truly do not care about that then I will not stop you, but know that I will not allow my daughter to be with a man that allows vengeance to consume him" Hiashi said.

This made Sasuke stop walking. Everyone present could see the internal struggle that was taking place inside of Sasuke. It was clear to them that he badly wanted to kill Danzo, but the threat of losing Hinata seemed to be clearing his foggy mind.

Seeing weakness in the Uchiha, Danzo spoke up.

"Oh look the mighty Uchiha has a weakness. To think that you are even considering abandoning your precious vengeance on the mastermind of your clan's murder for some bitch" he said smirking, but he instantly regretted his words.

As soon as they left his mouth Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Hiashi and Hizashi were all in front of him poised to strike, and Gaara had tightened the Sand Coffin and had used Sand to gag him. Danzo closed his eyes to brace for the painful death that never came.

He opened his eyes to see that his attackers were all being held by their Shadows. Sasuke, Naruto and Neji growled when they realized who was holding them. They all turned to see Shikamaru and Shikaku both using their 'Shadow Possession Jutsu' to restrain them. Shikamaru had Neji, Sasuke and Naruto while Shikaku was restraining Hiashi and Hizashi.

"Shikamaru if you were here to hear what he said you wouldn't be holding us back, so I suggest you let us go" Neji said trying to reason with the other genius.

"I didn't hear, but regardless of what he said, I can't allow you to kill a village elder. I'm under strict orders. Though its nice seeing Sasuke and Hinata again, they're arrival has proven to be quite troublesome" Shikamaru said sweating as he struggled to keep Neji, Naruto and Sasuke still.

Everyone tensed as quickly they were surrounded by more Anbu and Jonin. Gai, Asuma, Anko, Kurenai and Zabuza were among them, and even Team Taka had arrived with them.

"What exactly is going on here!" A voice exclaimed.

Everyone's attention was turned towards a nearby building. There, standing on the roof, was the 5th Hokage Tsunade Senju. She glared down at the scene, looking eyes with everyone one by one. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Itachi, and then narrowed when she saw that the Kazekage was holding Danzo in his sand.

She jumped down from the building and spoke slowly, but clearly.

"Someone better start explaining what's going on. **Now** " Tsunade said. Everyone was quiet for a moment, but then Hiashi stepped forward.

Seeing that the incident took place in his compound, he figured that it was his responsibility to explain the situation to the Hokage.

"Well it started out with a simple discussion between Danzo and I..." Hiashi said as he began to recall the entire story.

XxXxXx

Meanwhile in a hideout near the border, a legendary shinobi was beginning to regain consciousness.

Jiraiya weakly opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He couldn't see anything but a white wall, a door and the monitor that showed his vitals. Jiraiya had a massive headache and he couldn't believe that he was still alive.

He was almost positive that he had died after Pein had stabbed him and left him to drown.

' _ **Where am I? How did I get here and how am I alive?'**_ Jiraiya thought to himself, but his musings were cut off when he heard the door to his room open revealing the most unlikely person in Jiraiya's mind.

Jiraiya's mouth dropped as the man smirked and approached him to check on his injuries.

"You've been out for quite some time. Glad to see that you've regained consciousness Jiraiya" The man said.

Jiraiya had so many questions to ask and so many comments to make, but in the end he could only manage to utter one thing.

"Orochimaru?"

 **TBC**

 **Nevvy- I'm glad that you liked the chapter. I hope that you'll like this one too**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you! I promise you that Danzo will he what he deserves soon enough**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Thank you and hopefully this chapter gave you a hint of what happened to Orochimaru**

 **MikanYuzu- Thank you, hopefully the fight lived up to your expectations**

 **Splaaash-attack- Glad you liked it. All I can say is that the Pein fight will be much different.**

 **Neilin- Thank you for that. I'll try to change the pacing**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you and I saw that you updated. I can't wait to read the new chapter**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- I never noticed the other Akatsuki members having nail polish too until you said something... Oh well it's AU for a reason lol XD. And yes eventually Itachi will be paired up too. Sasuke can't be the only Uchiha restoring the clan. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. It shouldn't take this long to update often, but thank you to everyone who continues to Read and Review! I really appreciate all of you - Dishon 3**


	23. Aftermath

**Chapter 23**

To say that Jiraiya was surprised to see his old teammate would be an understatement. Jiraiya was almost certain that he was going to die and that no one would come to save him, but even if he did think that someone would come to prevent his death; Orochimaru was literally the last person that he would ever think of.

Jiraya just stared at Orochimaru with a surprised look on his face, he was in complete shock and he couldn't think of any words other than Orochimaru's name. Orochimaru seemed to read his mind as he smirked at the other Sannin.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you speechless Jiraiya; are you really that surprised to see me? I guess I can't blame you. We haven't really been on the best terms for the last couple years" Orochimaru said while changing the bandages around Jiraiya.

Orochimaru's words snapped Jiraiya out of his stupor as he quickly sat up. He regretted the action almost instantly as a blinding pain coursed through his body. Orochimaru hissed and firmly pushed Jiraiya back down onto the bed.

"Don't move you Idiot. You're going to tear your stitches and bleed to death. I didn't save you just so you can die in my care" Orochimaru said scolding Jiraiya as he continued to change his bandages.

The Toad Sage frowned. He couldn't believe the nerve of Orochimaru. The man had abandoned the Village, experimented on people, and killed their sensei, but he still thought that he could treat him like he did when they were teammates.

"You don't get to scold me like that anymore you damn snake! Now explain yourself Orochimaru; where are we and why did you save me?" Jiraiya asked.

"We are in one of my bases near the border of Amekagure. I didn't have time to get you anywhere else because you would've died if you didn't receive some immediate medical treatment, and my reason behind saving you in quite simple. The only one allowed to kill you, is me" Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya glared at him after that, but chose to ignore his words. If the other man really wanted to kill him then he would've stabbed him while he was unconscious, or he would attack now. Orochimaru obviously had something planned, Jiraiya just had to play along until he figured out what it was.

"You seem confident that you could kill me. Remember that I was drugged the last time we fought" Jiraiya said.

"Remember our dearly departed Sensei sealed the use of my arms with the reaper death seal; I'd say our handicaps were fairly even" Orochimaru said finishing the last bandage.

Now that Orochimaru had finished bandaging him, Jiraiya slowly sat up.

"So why were you in Amekagure anyway? It's pretty far from the Sound Village" Jiraiya asked.

"Pein destroyed the Sound Village and critically wounded one of my most important allies. I was able to defeat one of the bodies during the attack, but I couldn't do much against the others. I came to Amekagure in hopes of discovering a way to defeat the rest of them, but instead I find you attacking all of them recklessly. Honestly I'm surprised that Tsunade even let you go" Orochimaru said shaking his head in a disapproving way.

"HEY! YOU ATTACKED THEM ALL TOO YOU SNAKE BASTARD" Jiraiya shouted with his face red in embarrassment.

"Wrong. I was attacked, so I had no choice but to fight back. You willingly came here and willingly attacked all of them, but then again, that's the type of reckless idiocy that I'd expect from you" Orochimaru said with a shrug.

Jiraiya growled at the other man. He was just as sarcastic and smug as he remembered, but he didn't sound as sadistic as he did the last time they met. Jiraiya couldn't help but wonder if something changed him.

Never being the one to keep his thoughts to himself, Jiraiya asked Orochimaru the question that was on his mind.

"What happened to you?"

Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't aware that he'd been acting differently from how he'd normally act. He was genuinely confused by the man's question.

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened to me. I'm the same person that I've always been." Orochimaru said trying to dismiss the question, but Jiraiya was persistent.

"No that's not true. The Orochimaru from two years ago wouldn't have cared if Pein killed me, he wouldn't have saved me, and he definitely wouldn't be healing me right now" Jiraiya said.

"I already told you that the only one that's allowed to kill you is me" Orochimaru said rolling his eyes. Jiraiya saw this and then smirked like he just realized something important.

"And he also wouldn't have rolled his eyes at me. You're acting like you did when we were together before the 2nd Great Shinobi War, so tell me what happened. Did you finally give up your quest for immortality?" Jiraiya asked with a hopeful expression.

Orochimaru looked at the hopeful look on Jiraiya's face before he laughed to himself. Jiraiya always was a idiotic optimist.

"I've acquired a body that's full of the 1st Hokage's cells, so I no longer need to use human vessels to experiment on because I can experiment on my current body without any negative repercussions" Orochimaru explained.

Jiraya's hopeful face was replaced by a confused face.

"How did you get a body that had the 1st Hokage's cells?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's a long story that I currently don't feel like telling. Maybe I'll fill you in when we leave here, which should probably be as soon as you heal enough to fight if we want to make it in time" Orochimaru said.

"Why is that? Where are we going and why is there a rush?" Jiraiya asked.

"Before I dived into the water to save you, I overheard Pein talking about heading to Konoha to capture the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki, and if my memory is right, then that's your precious student. Besides he destroyed the Sound Village, so I'd rather not allow him to destroy my birth Village as well" Orochimaru said.

"Well I wouldn't worry about Naruto too much. He's gotten much stronger in the past two years and I sent Pa to the Village with the secret to defeat Pein. I have a feeling that they'll be fine..." Jiraiya said as Orochimaru's words sunk in. Then he smirked at the other man before continuing.

"... And what do you won't let him destroy Konoha? Does that mean that you miss your old Village? Maybe when this whole thing is over, Tsunade will accept you back in the Village and we can be together as a team again" Jiraiya said.

"Shut up! I will do no such thing. It's just like the situation with you. I'm only saving Konoha so that I can attempt to destroy it myself one day" Orochimaru snapped at Jiraiya, but Jiraiya wasn't buying it.

"Sure what ever you say" Jiraiya said dismissively.

Orochimaru's eye twitched. He suddenly remembered just how annoying Jiraiya really was, and he was quickly becoming tired of conversing with the other man. He turned leave the room when Jiraiya's voice stopped him.

"By the way Orochimaru, if you've already gotten what you wanted then what is it that you want now?" Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru paused. He's been asking himself the same question ever since he acquired Zetsu's body. He spent hours daily thinking about it and always came up with the same thing. The only problem was that his interests had nothing to do with him all and Orochimaru was still getting used to it.

However, even though he was still adjusting to his new purpose, he knew for certain that it was what he wanted to do. With a smirk on his face he turned his head so that Jiraiya could see his face.

"I simply want to see how my legacy affects the shinobi world. Whether it's for better or worse; I want to be there to witness it. As of now, watching his future is the thing that interests me the most" Orochimaru said before walking out of the room and slamming the door leaving behind a stunned Jiraiya.

Jiraiya wasn't the smartest shinobi, but he could understand what Orochimaru was saying. He wanted see what kind of impact Sasuke would make on the world. Jiraiya had a similar goal with his pupil. He personally believed that Naruto was the child of prophecy and Jiraiya wanted to be there to see everything that he'll accomplish.

Jiraya laughed to himself as he thought about future. He didn't know how much progress Sasuke had made under Orochimaru, but if he was anywhere near Naruto in power then the future looked bright. He doubted that many shinobi would be able to stand against the two, and with Naruto's powerful 'Talk no Jutsu' disarming even the hardest of shinobi; the future looked bright for the shinobi world.

' _ **Hopefully we'll both still be around to witness it, Orochimaru'**_ Jiraiya thought as he laid back down. Fatigue soon took over and the Sannin drifted off to sleep with a serene smile on his face as he imagined Naruto and Sasuke ushering in a New Age.

XxXxXx

After Hiashi had finished explaining all the information he knew to Tsunade, she walked over to Danzo with a frown on her face. Danzo thought that she was about to free him from his sand prison, but he was proved wrong when Tsunade punched him square in the face. It wasn't hard enough to kill him, but it definitely broke a few bones and knocked him unconscious.

"That was for calling Hinata a bitch. You can release him now Kazekage, he won't be waking up anytime soon" Tsunade said.

Gaara nodded and released Danzo's limp body. Sasuke smirked when he saw the horrible shape the man was in, but he was a little annoyed that he wasn't the one that rendered the man unconscious.

"Place chakra cuffs on Danzo and Itachi. We'll have Ibiki, Hanare and Inoichi take a look at their minds to make sure it adds up to what Hiashi said. After the mind probe, we'll hold a trial to determine their fate. Also I want two more pairs of Chakra cuffs handed to me" Tsunade ordered and the Anbu got to work doing what she said.

When one of the Anbu gave her the cuffs she walked over to Sasuke and Naruto. Both of them gave her a surprised look when she clamped the Chakra cuffs over them.

""What are you doing Granny Tsunade" Naruto asked. Sasuke simply glared at her. Tsunade didn't flinch, but she internally shuddered at the fierceness of the Uchiha's glare.

"You two are too powerful and we wouldn't be able to stop you if you decided to attack Danzo, so you have to wear these until we've had a fair trial and the verdict has been reached" Tsunade said as she turned to Kakashi.

"They're your students, and you know them better than any other Jonin, so I trust that you can watch them" Tsunade said to the masked nin. Kakashi nodded and pulled his headband back over his eye.

"Good, now all available shinobi pick up the dead bodies and begin to help rebuild the Hyuuga Compound" Tsunade ordered, but was cut off by a Hyuuga Elder.

"There's no need for that Lady Hokage. The Branch members will be more than enough to rebuild the Compund. There's no need to disperse any of your ninja for this simple task" she said.

Hearing this most of the Hyuuga Branch family frowned, but kept their comments to themselves knowing that they'd be punished if they were to speak out against the Main House. Well all of them kept the complaints to themselves except for one.

"You should Idiotic. The Hokage is offering us extra help to rebuild the compound faster and you reject it to make more work on the Branch Family!?" Neji asked glaring at the elder.

"Quiet Neji! You know better than to make comments like that to the elders" Hizashi snapped at his son.

Neji looked at his father for a moment before turning away in frustration. The Elder walked over to stand in front of Neji with a frown on her face. Neji looked back at her with an even more fierce frown making the woman take a few steps away in fear.

"Hizashi you're brat my be a prodigy in the art of combat, but he obviously needs a reminder of who holds the power. He's forgotten his place" The elder said.

"Neji-nii has done nothing, but speak his mind. He does not deserve punishment for that" Hinata said frowning at the woman.

Sakura had finished healing Sai. He wasn't awake, but he was in a stable condition, so she decided to get up and walk over to Neji. She was tired of listening to the woman talk about him like that so she was going to do something about it.

She was about to go give the Hyuuga elder a piece of her mind, but one look from Neji made her stop her approach.

Sakura knew Neji well enough to know when he's planning something, so she trusted that Neji had his own way of dealing with this woman.

"Well if I truly forgot then by all means, try to remind me" Neji said.

The rest of the Branch all gasped at Neji's boldness. Even Hiashi was speechless, he'd never heard his nephew talk to a Main House member that way because he knew the consequences. He was practically asking her to use the curse seal.

That's exactly what she did. Without saying a word, she performed the required hand signs for the seal and directed the Chakra at Neji who just stood there unaffected.

When she realized it wasn't working she added more chakra thinking that she just wasn't trying hard enough, but when that didn't work she looked at Neji in fear and backed away slowly.

Neji looked her with a smirk on his face when she realized she couldn't activate the seal.

"What's wrong? Having problems punishing me?" Neji taunted.

Hiashi looked at Neji in surprise but as he looked around to see big smile on Hinata and Naruto's face, along with the satisfied smirk on Sasuke's; he came to a realization.

He quickly walked up to Neji and removed the headband from his nephew's head to confirm his suspicions. He was greeted with a normal forehead free of the Hyuuga cursed seal.

Seeing this Hizashi and the rest of the Branch Family looked at Neji with hope in their eyes.

"Son... you're free" Hizashi said as tears began to fill his eyes.

Both Hiashi and Hizashi looked at Hinata, knowing that she was the only one who could've done it. The ritual had been lost to time, so no one in the clan knew how to do it, but Hinata had apparently learned how to do it while she was out of the Village.

Hiashi walked towards Hinata with an emotionless face, but before he got there Sasuke blocked his path making him stop. Sasuke whispered a word and the two men stiffened.

The shinobi present thought that the two men were sizing each other up, soeveryone around them tensed in preparation for a confrontation. Even though Sasuke was in Chakra cuffs he still had his Mangekyou Sharingan active. The two men seemed to have a stare down and no one knew what was happening except for Itachi who muttered

"Tsukuyomi"

XxXxXx

 **In the Tsukuyomi World**

Hiashi blinked as he looked around see nothing but a Red sky and a Red ground. He recognized this as a Genjutsu and quickly activated his Byakugan in an attempt to break it, and he was shocked to find that it didn't work.

"I'd deactivate that if I were you. The only thing that you'd succeed in doing is draining your chakra faster" Sasuke said.

Hiashi turned around to see the man standing across from him without Chakra cuffs on.

"Where are we? And what's the meaning of this attack?" Hiashi asked trying to keep his voice leveled.

"We are in the world of Tsukuyomi. I control everything here and you have no way of escaping unless I allow you to, and this isn't really an attack. I just wanted to talk to you and make sure a few things were clear before you talked to Hinata" Sasuke said as he raised his hand.

Suddenly, Hiashi was tied to a tree that appeared out of no where. The ropes were so tight that he could feel them digging into his skin. He was completely and utterly helpless in front of Sasuke. In all his years as a clan head, nothing could've prepared him for this technique.

"Is it truly necessary to bound me like this if all you wanted to do was talk?" Hiashi question while maintaining his cool demeanor.

"Just a precaution. I want to make sure that you pay attention to everything I say" Sasuke said with a shrug. Hiashi nodded in agreement and Sasuke continued speaking.

"I'm sure you figured out that Hinata has found a way to remove the seals from the Branch Family. I want you to know that, after this situation with Danzo is over, she will continue remove the seals from each and every Branch Family member until there are no more Hyuuga slaves. You have two choices on what to do about this Hiashi. You can either except this and support your daughter, or you can try to stop her and have to deal with me. I'd choose the words that you'll tell Hinata very carefully if I were you, but the choice is yours" Sasuke said as he released Hiashi from his bondage.

Hiashi took a second to let everything sink in before sending a quick smirk at Sasuke. Sasuke would've missed it if he hadn't been looking at Hiashi so intently.

"While I appreciate the lengths that you went to ensure that I wouldn't say anything mean to my daughter; I assure you that your concerns are unnecessary. I was going to go over there to hug her" Hiashi said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in suspicion obviously not believing him.

"Really? She came up with a way to eliminate the Caste System that's been in your clan for generations and you was going over there to hug her? Excuse me if I find that hard to believe" Sasuke said.

"Trust me for years I've wanted nothing more than to end the Caste System to free my twin brother, but the elders have been on my back, and it didn't help that no one knew the technique to remove the seals. Now that Hinata knows how to do that, I can finally eliminate the Caste System that's enslaved my Clan" Hiashi said.

Sasuke looked at Hiashi for moment trying to decide if the man was telling the truth or not. His words sounded sincere enough and even though he wore the same impassive face; Sasuke could see the slight warmness in his eyes.

"Alright I'll release this jutsu and let you say what you have to say to her, but remember what I said. I'd rather have to attack Hinata's father, but I will if I have to" Sasuke warned as he began to release the Jutsu.

"You've just proved to me that you're truly worthy of my daughter. I'll gladly accept you into the family" Hiashi said as the Tsukuyomi world faded around him.

 **End Tsukuyomi Scene**

XxXxXx

Sasuke had a surprised look on his face when they returned to the real world. He hadn't expected the proud clan head to say something like that. Hiashi nodded at him and Sasuke moved out of the way surprising most of the spectators.

Hiashi walked until he was right in front of Hinata. She met her father's gaze and didn't waver, a fact that pleasantly surprised Hiashi.

"Hinata, how did you discover the technique used to remove the cursed seals from the Branch Family?" Hiashi asked.

"Sasuke and I took the scroll from Orochimaru. It explained in detail how to remove it. I didn't know if it would work at first, but Neji-nii volunteered to be the test subject, and now he's free" Hinata said.

Hiashi wondered why Orochimaru had scrolls contain ancient Hyuuga techniques, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead he gave Hinata a hug, surprising the girl. He wasn't usually one for physical affection, but he was really proud of her. When he pulled away he saw Hinata looking at him in confusion, so Hiashi explained.

"Thank you Hinata. Now that you've learned the technique you can teach it to me, and together we can free the Branch Family from their cages" Hiashi said. Hinata nodded with a smile on her face causing outrage from the Elders and some of the Main House member, but cheers of joy from the Branch Family.

"Hiashi-sama you can't be serious! If we removed the Branch Family's seals there's no telling what they'd do! We've been oppressing them for generations! Do you really think that after their freed that they will peacefully coincide with us?" The same elder said.

Tsunade frowned. The woman was really starting to annoy her. She normally wouldn't involve herself in clan affairs, but she personally thought that the Caste System was stupid and if she could help end it then she will.

"I can personally assure you that the Branch Family won't attack the Main House. If they do then they will have to deal with me" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles. Hiashi nodded.

"If it will reassure you then I will also talk to every single member of the Branch Family before I remove their seal to make sure they won't attack us" Hiashi said.

The elder still didn't look please and was about to complain more when he chakra points were blocked and she dropped to the ground unconscious. Everyone looked at her body in shock before looking up to see who was responsible.

.

Hanabi deactivated her Byakugan and shrugged at the looks she was getting from everyone.

"You can't tell me that she wasn't getting annoying. I just did what everyone was thinking" Hanabi said explaining her actions.

A few laughs could be heard along with several nods of agreement from multiple people. Hiashi shook his head at his youngest daughter's antics as he turned to Tsunade.

"Is the offer of help to rebuild the Compound still valid" Hiashi asked.

Tsunade nodded and ordered some shinobi to stay and help the Hyuuga rebuild. She looked at Itachi for moment before speaking.

"We will put Itachi Uchiha and Danzo in holding cells until tomorrow where we will have their trial. Sasuke, you and Naruto are to stay at the Uchiha District until the trial tomorrow; Kakashi will be there to monitor you" Tsunade said as she got ready to leave.

"Make sure they actually go there, and don't look Sasuke in the eyes. His chakra might be suppressed, but I have a feeling that he can still use his Sharingan" Tsunade said to one of the Anbu who nodded.

"Wait Granny Tsunade; How am I supposed to get Ramen if I have to stay at the District?" Naruto whined.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and ignored him as she made her way back to her office to start on the Mountain of paperwork that she had to do for the Trial; leaving behind a pouting Naruto.

"Come on you two. We better get back to the Uchiha District now before the Anbu tries to make us." Kakashi said as he turned to Hanare.

"Update me on the situation when you get finished probing their minds" Kakashi whispered. Hanare nodded and left with Ibiki and Inoichi.

"But Kaka-sensei, what about my ramen?" Naruto asked still pouting. Kakashi and Sasuke both rolled their eyes at his antics.

"Stop whining loser, besides Haku could probably bring you ramen later. It's not like our friends can't visit us at our house" Sasuke said.

Naruto's eyes lit up as he turned to Haku.

"Would you really do that for me?" Naruto asked with shining blue eyes.

"Of course, Neji's paying for it, but I'll be more than happy to bring your Ramen to you" Haku said with a smile. Neji grumbled to himself remembering the promise he made. He was not looking forward to this next month.

"Thanks babe! I'd hug you if I could, but I have these chakra cuffs on me" Naruto said showing his hands to Haku. She chuckled in understanding as he wrapped her arms around Naruto herself.

Sasuke ignored his friend as he walked over to Hinata, who was still next to her father. The two made brief eye contact before Hiashi nodded and walked away to go talk to his brother about removing his seal, leaving Sasuke and Hinata alone.

"Do you want me to bring you food too?" Hinata asked.

"I don't care about whether or not you bring me food. I just want to come and stay with me until this trial is over. I still feel like killing something, and your presence calms me down" Sasuke said

Hinata looked at Sasuke warmly before she gave him a hug. Sasuke tensed up at first, but then he slowly started to relax in Hinata's hold. When she let him go she smiled.

"I'll be there later. Try not to get into a fight with Naruto before I get there" Hinata said making a small smile show on Sasuke's face.

"No promises"

"Hey! Hurry up you two, you can do all the lovey dovey stuff later" Kakashi said with a teasing voice. Both Sasuke and Naruto glared at their sensei as they broke away from their respective girlfriends and walked over to their sensei.

"You know you could've waited considering we used to wait on you all the time" Naruto said as they walked to the Uchiha District. Kakashi took the Icha Icha Paradise book from his Kunai pouch and simply said.

"Hanare had to leave, so if I couldn't enjoy my girlfriend then you two couldn't enjoy yours"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other with twin looks of surprise at their sensei's pettiness before they both smirked.

"We'll remember that the next time we see you and Hanare alone" Sasuke said.

Kakashi didn't respond and just kept walking towards the Uchiha District unaware of the plotting teenagers behind him.

XxXxXx

Obito observed the scene with a frown on his face.

The battle hadn't gone exactly the way he had been hoping for. Not only was Danzo still alive, but Sasuke still seemed content on staying in the Hidden Leaf Village; even after Danzo confirmed everything that he had told him.

And to make matters worse, Zetsu had informed him that Pein was currently on the way to Konoha in order to capture the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. That was a fight the Obito knew that Sasuke would participate in, and he didn't want his cousin to be critically injured or killed trying to defeat Pein.

Sure he had a Mangekyou Sharingan, but the Rinnegan was so vastly superior to every other dojutsu, Obito didn't want to take that chance.

He had to find a way to get Sasuke out of the Village before Pein arrived, but he didn't yet have a plan for how to do it. That is he didn't have a plan, until he saw the Hyuuga Heiress talking to her father.

Surely Sasuke would follow him if he was to take Hinata away from the Village. Obito had personally seen how much he cared for the girl. He was almost sure that Sasuke would do anything he asked if he kidnapped Hinata, but he was certain that Sasuke would try to kill him if he hurt Hinata, so Obito really had to think this one through.

He wasn't sure if he wanted a mad Sasuke on his tail, but at the same time he really wanted Sasuke and Itachi to join his cause, and he was starting to get more desperate. Not to mention the fact that he still had to revive the real Madara Uchiha.

Obito would've talked to Sasuke, but he didn't want to risk going into the Uchiha District and running into his old teammate. He still hadn't forgiven him for letting Rin die, so he couldn't fully trust himself not to attack the other man.

' _ **I hope that I don't have to kidnap the girl. I'd rather talk to Sasuke while he's civil, and I have a feeling that he wouldn't be if I take her, but I'm running out of time and options'**_ Obito thought to himself.

Obito looked at the Hyuuga Heiress once more before using his Kamui to leave the area.

 **TBC**

 **Splaaash- attack- Thank you hope you liked this one too!**

 **Serenity-Moonstone- I'm glad you enjoyed it. There was a little more Jiraiya in this chapter and I promise Danzo will get what's coming too him next chapter. As for someone finding out Sasuke's secret... I'm not saying anything ; ).**

 **Scaunders, SakuraKoi, Lusalec- Thank you**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Glad you liked it!**

 **Thank you for everyone who continues to Read and Review! Until next time- Dishon 3**


	24. The Trial

**Chapter 24**

Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi were all in the Uchiha District waiting for Hinata and Haku arrive with food for them.

They were in Sasuke and Naruto's house sitting on the couches. Sasuke was staring at the wall, Naruto was looking at the door, hoping that Haku would walk through it, and Kakashi was reading the newest edition of the 'Icha Icha Paradise' series.

Getting tired of the silence, Naruto decided to speak up.

"So Kakashi-sensei, why do you like those books so much? I was there when the Pervy Sage was doing his 'research' for his next book, but is it really that good of a book?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi and Sasuke both look at Naruto with surprised looks on their faces. Out of all the things that could've come out of Naruto's mouth, that was the last thing that either of them would have suspected.

"Why are you two looking at me like that? Answer the question" Naruto said annoyed by the way they were looking at him.

Kakashi chuckled to himself before he the book he was reading away, and pulled out a different book with a red cover.

"These books contain very important information regarding the female species. Jiraiya was definitely very thorough in his research, and I read them for different things that I can use to please Hanare. I think that you two are finally old enough to get 'the talk' from me" Kakashi said.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened when Kakashi mentioned 'The Talk', they were both 16, but they weren't sure that they were ready to hear about Kunais and Pouches. Especially from someone like Kakashi, who read porn as a hobby.

"Is that really necessary Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked suddenly regretting the fact that he asked.

"Of course! As your sensei it's my responsibility to make sure that my students are well informed. Sasuke has already read the first edition, so it's only right that I let you two read it's sequel. It'll help you both out when you decide to take that step in your relationships with Hinata and Haku" Kakashi said as if the most obvious thing in the world.

Sasuke's eye twitched and Naruto had a nervous look on his face, obviously uncomfortable. Kakashi noticed me and opened the book to reveal the first page.

"Come on you two, we'll read it together. No need to be nervous" Kakashi said motioning to seats next to him.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before going to sit next to Kakashi, to look at the book. When Sasuke didn't move right away they gave him a look.

"Come on Bastard, I know that you learn more this kind of stuff for your clan restoration" Naruto said wiggling his eyebrows.

"He's right, and you've already read the first edition. I know you're curious about the sequel" Kakashi said with a teasing smirk behind his mask.

Don't ask how Sasuke could tell it was a teasing smirk. He had the feeling.

Shrugging his shoulders, trying to remain impassive, Sasuke made his way over to where Kakashi and Naruto were sitting. Instead of sitting with them, he stood behind them so he could activate his Sharingan undetected.

Together the three read through page after page of the novel. Sasuke and Kakashi were invested in the story, and even Naruto was quiet and deep into the story despite his short attention span.

When they were about half way through, Naruto's eyes widened at what he saw. He could no longer keep his mouth shut.

"WHAT IS THIS KAKASHI-SENSEI? ARE YOU TELLING ME HAKU CAN BEND LIKE THIS?" Naruto shouted as he stared at the page in disbelief.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head solemnly as he addressed his louder student.

"I doubt it. This position is extremely difficult for even the highest level shinobi women. Not even Hanare can do this, but maybe Hinata can with her Hyuuga training. They're all about flexibility" Kakashi said eyeing Sasuke.

"Aww really? The Bastard is lucky cause that looks like it'll be a lot of fun" Naruto said with a pout.

Sasuke looked at the position with a similar level of disbelief as Naruto. He just did a better job of hiding it. He wasn't sure that Hinata could do that either, but Kakashi had a point. The Hyuuga are a clan that base their fighting style off balance and flexibility, so it was definitely a possibility. A possibility that had Sasuke eager to find out just how flexible Hinata was.

"If you two are done fantasizing about positions that you'll never get to experience, I'd like to discover what's on the next page now" Sasuke said trying his best to sound annoyed.

"Wow you're really into this huh Bastard?" Naruto asked turning to smirk at Sasuke who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I recall you being the one that drooled all over page 3 Loser" Sasuke said with a smirk on his face.

"That was pretty embarrassing Naruto. You're lucky that no one in here would judge you because drooling over a fictional woman is rather shameful. Imagine what Haku would say" Kakashi added.

Naruto looked at Kakashi with betrayal written all over his face, but after thinking about what Kakashi had said, he decided to stay quiet and continued to read the book.

The three continued to read through the book until they finished the book. When they were done, Kakashi thought that it would be better if he educated them further.

"Now that you've seen the action of sex, I want you to know the 2 most important Jutsu that you must always remember to use, unless you want to risk pregnancy or privacy" Kakashi said.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded and paid close attention to Kakashi.

"The first is 'The Jutsu'. This one is to prevent pregnancy before you're ready to have children" Kakashi said going through the hand signs slowly for Naruto's sake. Sasuke could just copy it with his Sharingan, but Naruto didn't have that luxury.

When Naruto finally nodded his head in understanding, Kakashi continued on with the other most important jutsu.

"This one is the sound proofing jutsu. You'll need it if you want to keep your ladies screams from being heard all around the village" Kakashi said with a wink

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked away from their sensei with blushes on their faces. Naruto turned his head back to Kakashi to learn the hand signs for the Jutsu, but Kakashi was surprised when Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan before he looked back at him.

"You're not going to copy the Jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"There's no need. Orochimaru taught it to me, almost immediately after I demanded that Hinata and I share a room. He said he didn't want us disturbing the rest of the Village" Sasuke said making both Naruto and Kakashi laugh.

After they recovered from their laughter, Kakashi finished teaching Naruto the hand signs for the sound proofing Jutsu. After that Kakashi said that he was open to answer any questions that his two students could have for him, and Naruto took full advantage of that.

"Was there ever a time that you forgot to use the Jutsu on someone?" Naruto asked. Kakashi thought about the question for a moment before he shrugged.

"The only time I can remember not using it was about a month ago with Hanare, but that was only because she jumped me, and I didn't think about it until it was too late. Other than that, I've used it every other time I've been intimate with someone" Kakashi said.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi for moment before asking a question that he was sure would get him laughed at.

"What does it feel like?" Sasuke muttered, but Kakashi heard him.

Kakashi smiled because he actually didn't expect Sasuke to ask any question, and the fact that he did meant that he valued his advice.

"Well it feels great, but be careful because it's one of the most addictive things that exists. When you two decide to take the next step with Haku and Hinata, it's likely that you'll rarely ever want to leave your rooms. I still don't like leaving mine and Hanare and I have been at it for 2 years" Kakashi said with a small laugh before he noticed the petrified looks that they were giving him.

He was about to ask what was wrong, but a small cough made him freeze. He prayed to Kami that it wasn't who he thought it was before he turned to come face to face with an annoyed Hanare, and she wasn't alone.

Both Haku and Hinata were with her each with containers carrying food, but they also had twin blushes on their faces. Hanare had a bag of food as well, but her face didn't carry the same blush as the younger woman.

"Hey ladies. How much of that did you hear" Kakashi asked took a few steps away from Hanare with fear visible on his features.

"We heard enough, but I'm curious to know about all you told them" Hanare said dropping the food on a nearby table.

Kakashi gulped as Hanare advanced towards him. He knew the look that she was giving him well. It meant 'Tell the truth or I'll probe your mind', and Kakashi refused to let his mind be probed in front of his students. He had to put his foot down.

"Don't worry about it. I was just making sure that they were prepared for that stage of their relationships before taking that step. Right boys?" Kakashi said looking at his students for help.

Sasuke and Naruto snapped out of their trance as they both looked at each other. It seemed like the two had a silent conversation for a moment before they both looked back at Hanare.

"Kaka-sensei was helping us out" Naruto said with a smile.

"Yeah, besides he didn't say anything that we didn't know already" Sasuke added crossing his arms.

"See, so you have nothing to worry about. We were just having a conversation between men" Kakashi said turning his head back towards Hanare.

"Is that so?" Hanare asked as she assessed Naruto and Sasuke. She smirked internally when she noticed that Naruto's mouth was twitching and Sasuke's fingers were gripping his arm a little tighter than usual.

"Hm well I still want to you to tell me" Hanare said grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door.

"Wait, I can't leave. I have to watch them, orders straight from the Hokage" Kakashi said as Hanare was dragging him.

"I'm sure that the girls can watch these two while we talk" Hanare replied with a sweet smile.

"But what about my food?" Kakashi asked as he was thrown outside by Hanare.

"It'll here when we get back" Hanare said beginning to walk out of the door, but before she left she turned to Haku and Hinata.

"They're both hiding something. I trust that you'll find out what it is. We'll talk about it when I get done with Kakashi. Remember what I told you girls on the walk here, sometimes it's necessary to remind them why the women hold all the power" Hanare said as she closed door.

It was quiet for a moment before Naruto tried to speak.

"That was weird huh?" Naruto said with a laugh but he was instantly silenced as he was pinned to the wall by a barrage of senbon.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto and that proved to be a mistake as suddenly he felt all his chakra points lock up, dwindling what little chakra he had to an even lower level. He looked at Hinata with a surprise as he slumped to the ground unable to move.

Haku and Hinata were standing over them. One with senbon in her hand and the other with her Byakugan activated.

"Now you'll tell us everything that you were talking about, and you better not leave out any details" Haku said. Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

Sasuke and Naruto both gulped in fear as they wisely began to tell them every detail of their time with Kakashi. At the same time, Kakashi was telling Hanare everything as well.

Needless to say, it was a dark day for the males of Team 7.

XxXxXx

The next day, Itachi saw that the door to his cell was opened by the guards to prepare him for his trial. He was mentally exhausted as he had his mind probed by Hanare, who insisted that she do it.

Itachi was grateful to the woman because she was much more gentle then Ibiki and Inoichi would have been. He knows that for sure, because he heard Danzo's screams of pain from down the hall while his interrogation was taking place.

All Hanare did was ask him for information that he willingly gave. The only reason that he was mentally exhausted was because of the invasion of his mind. Hanare told him that it was unavoidable, so he didn't mind it much.

He stood up and walked out the cell to come face to face with someone that he hadn't seen much since he graduated from the academy.

"Itachi Uchiha. When I was sent down here to retrieve a prisoner for their trial, I didn't expect it to be you. How does it feel going from the guy every girl wanted to a world known S-Class rouge nin?" The woman asked aggressively pulling on Itachi's chakra cuffs.

"Hana Inuzuka. How are you doing these days? I see your still as aggressive as you were as a girl" Itachi said casually, causing the woman to growl at him.

"Don't speak in that cool voice to me! I'm trying to taunt you. Besides I'm much more then the academy girl that you once knew" Hana said smugly.

"Your taunting didn't work then and it's not going to work now. Maybe instead of trying to get a rise out of me, you can take me to the trial site, and your right. I can clearly see that you're much more than the academy girl you used to be. You definitely grew up well" Itachi said with a smirk.

Hana blushed at the comment and smirk, before snarling at him revealing her sharp canines.

"Don't do that. I'm not falling for your mind games Uchiha" Hana said roughly pulling Itachi forward as she began to walk.

"Mind games? I admit that I am a Genjutsu expert, but my Sharingan isn't even activated. I'm just commenting on how you've grown to be more beautiful. I have no negative intentions Hana" Itachi said defending himself.

Hana stopped walking when she heard what he said. She didn't think that she heard him right.

"What did you just call me" Hana said glaring at Itachi. He was wary because of the gleam in her eye, but he decided that there would be no harm in repeating himself.

"I just said you've grown to be more beautiful since we were in the academy together" Itachi said.

He was surprised when Hana grabbed him by his collar and pinned him against the wall. It didn't hurt, but Itachi was definitely winded by the unexpected move.

"Listen well Uchiha. I don't appreciate you trying to flirt with me in your attempts to save yourself. I am loyal to the Leaf and I will always choose my home over some petty crush I had in the academy, so stop this game that your playing immediately or you'll be at your trial bloodied and beaten" Hana threatened before she let him go and began walking faster towards the trial site, but being as perceptive as he was, Itachi saw the blush on her face.

' _ **She had a crush on me? I never really paid attention to any of the girls in the class except Izumi, so it's definitely possible... Wait I do remember her getting me a Valentine's Day gift'**_ Itachi thought to remembering the puppy that she presented to him.

Itachi liked it, and would've kept it, but his father said that they couldn't have dogs in the District because their clan was allied with Ninja cats.

Itachi remembered the sad look on Hana's face before she growled at him and walked away with her head high. He winced at the memory. Now he understand why Hana was so hostile towards him. She must've still held some anger towards him because of that.

"Hana, I'm not trying to deceive you. I'll will gladly go on trial and accept any punishment that the clan leaders agree upon for me, but I want you to know that if I am pardoned from my crimes; I want you to be the one to help reintegrate me into Konoha. I'm sure it's been through some changes since I left" Itachi said trying to offer his friendship.

Hana took a peak back at Itachi, but didn't speak. Instead she continued pulling him until they were right in front of the door where the trial will take place. She raised her hand to open the door, but before she pushed it open she paused.

Itachi was surprised when Hana turned to face him.

"Look Uchiha, I don't know if you're innocent or not, but I do remember that you was a pacifist that hated all forms of fighting back in our academy days. I'll be sure to share that with my mom before she makes her vote" Hana said.

Itachi gave her a surprised look, before letting a content smile rest on his face and nodding, but Hana wasn't finished.

"Oh and if you are innocent, I'd be more than willing to walk you around the Village and help you get readjusted. I even have a leash that looks like it'll fit you" Hana said with a smirk.

Itachi's eyes widened when he heard her say something about a leash, but before he could question her further, she pushed the door open and lead him into the room.

XxXxXx

Itachi looked around the room to see every clan leader and their heirs in attendance acting as the jury.

He saw Sasuke and Naruto representing the Uchiha Clan, and he was surprised to see their friends sitting with them. It seemed like they were all important in their own way. Kakashi was there serving as security with Gai, Zabuza and Asuma.

Itachi was relived to have a few familiar faces in the room. At least they would make sure that he'd have a fair trial.

Even though Itachi thought that he deserved to die from his actions, he didn't want anyone other than Sasuke to be the one to do it, so he was happy that he had allies that would argue for his life.

"Alright the first trial that we'll have today is for Itachi Uchiha. He's been charged with the massacre of the Uchiha Clan and abandoning the Village. He's also been excused of aiding the Akatsuki, but Hanare has already confirmed that he was serving as an agent for the late 3rd Hokage. Itachi will be given the opportunity to give a speech to explain why you should be spared, let the trial begin" Tsunade said looking at Itachi.

Everyone looked at Itachi curious to see what the ninja would say to defend himself. Itachi took a few steps forward and looked around to each and every face in the room before speaking.

"I don't regret my actions, but let me explain why. The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup and I was acting as a double agent for both sides. Danzo gave me the choice of siding with my family and fighting against the leaf, which would make it vulnerable and an easy target for other villages; or destroying my family, which would prevent a war and save countless lives, also my little brothers life was promised to be spared."

Everyone was silent as they listened to Itachi speak. Even those that knew the story were focused on the older Uchiha.

"Of course I took the second option, because it was the one with least amount of casualties, but more importantly, it was the only one that guaranteed Sasuke's safety, and if it came down to it, I'd do it again. I hold no ill will towards the Leaf and I love this village dearly, but I will always love Sasuke more. Pass your judgement as you wish, but if you choose death then I request Sasuke to be the one that does it" Itachi finished.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Tsunade regained her senses and spoke up.

"Alright Clan Heads, it's time to vote on Itachi Uchiha's fate" Tsunade said.

"I think it'll be better if we let the Heirs decide. It'll give them practice with their decision making skills, and prepare them for the responsibility that they will face in the near future" Shikaku suggested.

The Heirs all looked at him in surprise while the Clan Heads just nodded their heads in agreement.

"Very well, since your father was the one who proposed this idea, I want your vote first Shikamaru" Tsunade said. Shikamaru looked at his father with annoyance obvious in his features, but a stern look from Shikaku made Shikamaru straighten up.

"Based off of what I just heard Itachi Uchiha is, if nothing else, a loyal Konoha shinobi. The only thing he puts ahead of the Village is Sasuke and that won't be a problem in the foreseeable future because of Sasuke's insane strength. Itachi is a powerful shinobi and he would be an invaluable asset to the leaf. Also, I think it's safer for all of us if we drop Itachi of all his charges and let him free because he can feel the tense aura radiating off of Sasuke. Who knows what he'd do if we tried to kill the only family he had left. It would quite troublesome if we don't let him go" Shikamaru said with a yawn.

Tsunade nodded at the truth behind the Nara's statement. She then nodded towards Choji who was not so discreetly munching on some chips. When he noticed the attention was on him, he swallowed his food quickly and addressed the room.

"I agree with Shikamaru and I don't think that Itachi is such a bad guy. He did what he felt was right in order to protect the village and his brother" Choji said looking at Tsunade.

She then looked to Ino who was leaning on Gaara with unshed tears in her eyes. The Kazekage seemed to be trying to comfort her, but Tsunade decided not to read too much into his actions. It was neither the time nor the place.

"I think that Itachi is completely innocent and that Danzo should be killed. I can't imagine any one of us being able to make a better decision if we were put in the situation that he was in" Ino said.

Tsunade then looked at Shino for his opinion.

"He's innocent and that's because he did what any strong Leaf shinobi would do. He chose the safety of the village over himself" Shino said shifting his glasses.

Tsunade then looked at the Inuzuka Clan, and since she didn't know who the heir was, she asked both Kiba and Hana for their opinion.

"I think he's innocent no doubt about it" Kiba said without any thought. Hana rolled her eyes at her little brother's idiocy.

"I also think he's innocent, and if he is cleared of all his charges and allowed to be apart of the Village once again, then I will request to personally be in charge of his reintegration process" Hana said with authority shocking everyone in attendance except for Itachi.

' _ **She's certainly not shy'**_ Itachi thought as he had to try his best to contain his smile.

"That's a strange request, but okay I'll allow it if Itachi agrees" Tsunade said.

"I agree Lady Tsunade. There would be no one better suited for the job, especially since my little brother is preoccupied with the Hyuuga Heiress" Itachi said unable to resist the urge to tease Sasuke.

"Okay then its settled; speaking of the Hyuuga Heiress, Hinata what's your vote?" Tsunade said.

"I believe that Itachi can be trusted. He is Sasuke's older brother and I would hate to see him wrongly executed because he was following orders. Besides I want to get to know him more" Hinata said discreetly squeezing Sasuke's had behind her back. Tsunade nodded before she looked to Sasuke.

"I'm sure that I already know what your vote is. Would I be correct to assume that you vote for Itachi to be freed because he's innocent?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke simply nodded with a smirk on his face.

"Well then the verdict is that the defendant, Itachi Uchiha, has been dropped of all charges and is free to integrate back into the village. The first 6 months he will have a ninja assigned to him to monitor his actions and that Ninja will be Hana Inuzuka. Now bring in the next defendant" Tsunade said.

Kakashi took the Chakra cuffs off of Itachi, allowing him to full access to his chakra once again. He jumped up into stands to sit next to in between Sasuke and Naruto who were still in chakra cuffs as Danzo was pushed into the room by Ibiki.

Danzo was still bloodied and bandaged, but he was healed just enough to speak in his defense.

"Danzo you've been charged with ordering the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, taking Sharingan from the corpses of the Uchiha, giving shinobi to Orochimaru for him to conduct experiments, creating a system of elite shinobi seperate from the Anbu, attempting to assassinate the 3rd Hokage, and many more atrocities that I don't even want to admit. What do you have to say in your defense?" Tsunade asked.

"I have no need for a defense. I did want I did in order to protect and strengthen the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm sure that the Clan Heads understand that, so I have no doubt that I will be relieved of my crimes" Danzo said.

"You think Clan Heads will side with you after you and your rouge division of Anbu attacked me and my clan? Some of them died in that battle." Hiashi asked keeping his voice leveled.

"Of course, you were never my targets anyway. I only wanted to kill Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, but you and you're clan intervened. That was your own fault that you suffered casualties. You should learn how to stay out battles that don't concern you" Danzo said arrogantly.

Hiashi, Hizashi, Hinata and Neji all frowned at him, but kept their composure. Shikaku decided to speak up.

"Well while I can certainly agree that sometimes someone has to get there hands dirty for the benefit of the Village; some of the crimes that you've committed is simply too major to ignore. I vote death, by way of the Uchiha Brothers" Shikaku said surprising Danzo.

"What? But you're usually more logical than this Shikaku. You should reconsider" Danzo said.

"Ehh I thought about it enough during the walk over here, re-evaluating everything would be too troublesome" Shikaku said yawning much like his son did earlier.

"I've never really cared for you, but I respected you as an elder. After the things that I heard you did, there's no way you deserve to live" Choza said.

"The things I saw while probing your mind will likely give me nightmares for the remainder of my life. The Village doesn't need a monster like you and neither does the rest of the world" Inoichi said frowning.

"The maggots will feast on your skin while your in the grave" Shibi said.

"And the dogs will feed on your bones when the maggots are done" Tsume growled.

"I do believe that this makes the vote unanimous. You'll die right here" Hiashi said glaring at Danzo.

"Today is the day you finally pay for the endless crimes you've committed" Sasuke said.

Danzo paled as he looked at the face of everyone in attendance. No one seemed to be willing to listen to reason, and Danzo was once again scared for his life.

"Well it seems that Danzo is to be executed. It think everyone here agrees that Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha should be the ones to carry out the execution" Tsunade said. Everyone nodded in agreement and Kakashi took the chakra cuffs off of both Naruto and Sasuke giving them complete access to their Chakra once again.

Sasuke and Itachi hoped down and stood in front of Danzo, both with their Mangekyou Sharingan activated as they glared down at him.

"How do you want to do this Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"It should be painful, but it should also be quick. Hinata is watching and I don't want her thinking that I enjoy torturing people" Sasuke said. Itachi nodded but frowned as Danzo began to talk.

"Once again showing weakness because of the Hyuuga Bitch, you disgraceful piece of sh..."

" **AMATERASU"**

The black flames burned through Danzo's tongue and made him unable of speech. Itachi smirked and wiped the blood off his cheek.

"Thanks, and good idea" Sasuke said as together the two brothers covered Danzo's body in the black flames.

Soon the only thing left of Danzo were his ashes, and for the first time in his life he felt genuine relief. The man who was responsible for the death of his family was now dead, and Itachi was allowed back in the Village to stay for good.

Sasuke turned back to his first friends Naruto, Neji and Hinata and gave them the brightest smile that he could manage. They've been by his side since he came back to the past, and Sasuke couldn't ask for better people to ally himself with. Kakashi, Sakura, Haku and Gaara were also there for him and he was very appreciative of them as well.

Sasuke watched as the wind blowed Danzo's ashes away with a content look on his face.

' _ **Finally, I can live my life free of revenge and finally things will start to settle a little. Hopefully I can find away to prevent the war as well. That should be easy'**_ Sasuke thought to himself unaware of how wrong he was.

XxXxXx

Obito smirked as he felt Danzo's chakra diminish completely signifying that the man was now dead.

With that annoyance out of the way, Obito's plans are sure to be easier. He overlooked Konoha with satisfied smirk on his face.

' _ **Now that Danzo's dead, I think that the time has come for a little family reunion'**_ Obito thought as he used Kamui to fade out of sight.

 **TBC**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- I'm glad that you like it. I imagine that Orochimaru and Jiraiya had a relationship similar to Sasuke and Naruto so I tried to make it seem like that. And yeah Hizashi still being alive played a huge part in that.**

 **GinaHanelle- Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you're enjoying the Fanfic.**

 **Nevvy- I hope that you enjoyed the trial this chapter. I hope that justice was enough, though I probably could've been more brutal towards him.**

 **Dee-Kyun- They're on their way. Please bare with me : ).**

 **Livinggodofnaruto- If enough people ask for it then, I'll make it happen.**

 **Lilaclouds (Guest)- Obito will do what thinks is necessary but he definitely has to be wary of Sasuke.**

 **Telly (Guest)- the whole thing in 30 minutes huh? 0.0 that's an actual talent to be able to read that fast. Thank you for reading and enjoying my fic.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Obito will have to tread very carefully if he doesn't want to be attacked by Sasuke.**

 **MorpheustheDream- The answer to that is both Yes and No. You'll find out why soon enough.**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Itachi/Temari is definitely a weird pairing, but I'm almost certain that the pairing I'm hinting at is even weirder ; ).**

 **Thank you to everyone who read and review the story. Please continue to leave Reviews and Feedback- Dishon 3**


	25. Uchiha Heart to Heart

**Chapter 25**

After the trial, Sasuke and the others all decided to go out to eat somewhere to celebrate. Naruto pleaded with them to go to Ichiraku's, but the group was too big for the little Ramen Stand to support, so they headed to a big barbecue house instead.

At first, Sasuke was against going out with everyone, but a little persuasion from Hinata had him change his mind. Itachi had tagged along which meant that Hana had to come, much to Kiba's dismay. Even the Jonin senseis were there, but they had their own table away from the group.

"So Itachi, how does it feel to be accepted back into the Village?" Neji asked.

"Honestly, I'm still surprised by the results. I can't believe that all of you young heirs decided that I was innocent even though you all know what I did" Itachi said. Shikamaru snorted.

"Are you serious? Do you know what Sasuke would've done to us if we said that you were guilty? I didn't want to tempt fate like that because I value my life" Shikamaru said making everyone laugh.

When everyone settled back down, Naruto raised his cup of water into the air. Everyone recognized the gesture and raised their cup as well, as they waited for what Naruto would say.

"I wanna toast to the fact that Sasuke has finally achieved his goal. Now he can stop being a Bastard and start acting like the rest of us" Naruto said ignoring the glare he was getting from Sasuke.

Everyone cheered and drunk their beverage, before the smarter people of the group realized what Naruto had said.

"Wait his goal? Are you telling me that he planned to take down Danzo and prove his brother's innocence from the start?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto nodded, not seeing the problem with telling them about the plan, now that Danzo was dead.

"How long has he been planning this?" Kurenai asked joining the conversation.

"I'm guessing that they've been brainstorming ideas since they graduated from the academy. I remember that Sasuke's goal was get strong enough to get rid of a certain person. At the time I thought he was talking about Itachi, but later he trusted me enough to reveal to me that the person was Danzo" Kakashi said surprising most of the people at the table.

"Sasuke had some big ambitions for a Genin" Asuma said stroking his beard.

"The power of youth can be truly scary sometimes" Gai said and the rest of the Jonin nodded their heads in agreement.

Itachi frowned at the new information. He remembered that Sasuke had told him that the 3rd Hokage was the one that told him the truth behind the massacre before he died. If he's been planning this since he graduated from the academy then the timing was off. Either Hiruzen told Sasuke before he graduated or he didn't tell him at all, because he was killed during the end of Sasuke's Chunin Exams.

Itachi was deep in thought, and just when he felt like he was close to discovering something; his thoughts were interrupted by a elbow lightly hitting his rib cage.

"You looked like you were deep in thought. Is something wrong Itachi?" Hana said in a hushed tone, so that only Itachi could hear.

"I wasn't deep in thought" Itachi whispered back with a small smile, but it faded when Hana pinched him underneath the table. He looked at her for an explanation.

"I know that you're lying. You're scent changed after you said that, now are you gonna tell me the truth? As your assigned shinobi, you're not allowed to lie to me" Hana replied.

' _ **I didn't know that the Inuzuka clan had that skill, and this woman is either overly involved in her duties as a shinobi, or she is genuinely worried about me'**_ Itachi thought as he came up with something truthful to tell her without saying everything.

"I was just thinking about my little brother" Itachi said.

Hana's eyes narrowed. She knew that he was telling the truth, but her instincts were telling her that there was more that he wasn't telling her. Hana opened her mouth about to see if she could get more information, but she was interrupted by her brother.

"Hey what are you two whispering about over there?" Kiba asked glaring at Itachi and Akamaru growling.

Suddenly everyone's attention was on Itachi and Hana, but neither of them seemed to be affected much by the attention. Well it seemed that way until Hana bared her teeth at Kiba.

"Maybe you should start minding your business brat. If I wanted you involved in my conversation with Itachi, then I would've said so" Hana said growling at Kiba. Kiba quickly averted his eyes away from his sister and Akamaru whined.

"Wait, but I'm interested in what you were talking about too. I didn't know that you too knew each other and you guys look real comfortable sitting together" Sasuke said with a teasing smirk.

Itachi rolled his eyes when his little brother joined in. He knew that he was trying to get revenge for what he said at the trial, but Itachi was smarter than Sasuke. He was not going allow Sasuke to fluster him in front of everyone. Itachi grabbed Hana's hand and stood up, making her stand as well.

"We were just talking about where we are going to go first. She's going to help reintegrate me into the Village, so we have much to do. We'll see you guys later" Itachi said walking towards the door, dragging the stunned Hana behind him.

"Huh it didn't take him much time at all. You Uchihas sure don't waste time going after something that you like" Naruto said.

Sasuke couldn't help but agree as he watched Itachi and Hana leave the room.

XxXxXx

When they were safely away from the group, Itachi let go of Hana's hand and turned to the woman next to him.

"Sorry about that. I didn't want to deal with my little brother teasing us. There's a good chance that Naruto, Neji and Kakashi would've joined him and that's a situation that I would rather avoid" Itachi said.

Hana just nodded and tried to will the blush to leave her face.

"It's okay. Sorry about Kiba and Akamaru causing the scene in there. He's annoying, but he usually knows when to stay quiet" Hana said.

Itachi nodded and the two stood in place for a moment in an awkward silence. Then Hana grabbed his hand again and started walking pulling Itachi behind her.

"Where are we going" Itachi asked deciding to let her lead him.

"Well you're one that said that we have much to do. I'm starting by taking you to the marketplace. It's one of the most popular places in the Village" Hana said.

"Okay I understand that, but is there a reason why your holding my hand?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow trying not to smirk.

"Don't overthink it Uchiha, I just don't have time for you falling behind or getting swarmed by fangirls or something" Hana said hiding her blush.

Itachi laughed, but decided not to comment any more, and together the two toured around Konoha.

XxXxXx

Itachi entered his house expecting to see, Sasuke and Naruto with their friends, but was surprised to see only Sasuke sitting on the couch. When Sasuke noticed Itachi had arrived he gave him a smirk.

"How was your date with the Inuzuka?" Sasuke asked. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Hana was just showing me around the Village, and introducing me to people. That hardly counts as a date Sasuke" Itachi said.

"Yeah sure if that's what you want to tell yourself. Admittance is the first step" Sasuke said.

Itachi ignored his comment before he asked the question that was on his mind.

"Where is everyone?"

"Naruto is on a date with Haku, so they probably won't be back for at least a few more hours, and Hinata and Neji are at a Hyuuga Clan meeting. Hinata is teaching her father how to remove the cursed seal, and Hizashi volunteered to be the first person that Hiashi can use it on. Neji wanted to be there when his father gained his freedom" Sasuke explained. Itachi nodded.

"Okay, so it's only us in the house for a couple of hours?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke nodded, and Itachi was about to question him on how he really knew the truth about the massacre, but another voice spoke first.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Both of the Uchiha brothers turned to see Obito walking towards them. They were instantly on guard, but Obito raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Relax, I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to talk to my family" Obito said.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here, after what you did" Itachi said glaring at him.

"You know, I can say the same thing to you Itachi. We all have our fair share of sins to make up for" Obito said returning Itachi's glare.

"At least I didn't voluntarily do it" Itachi responded.

"You asked me for help! I was doing you a favor. It's nice to see how grateful you are" Obito said.

"Both of you are older than me, yet you're arguing like children over something that has been resolved. Danzo's dead, so I don't want to hear anything else about what happened to our clan" Sasuke said.

Obito and Itachi glared each other again, before accepting the fact that Sasuke had a point, besides Obito really wasn't here to fight or argue against Itachi and Sasuke.

"I wanted to thank you for doing that by the way, but I admit that I wasn't expecting Itachi to be seen as innocent and allowed back into the Village" Obito said.

"Don't misunderstand me Obito, I don't trust you. Why don't you tell us what you're planning." Sasuke said.

"If I tell you, will you join me?" Obito asked.

"It depends on what it is" Sasuke said shocking Itachi.

"Sasuke, you can't be serious. You know that whatever he's planning could potentially be dangerous for the Leaf Village" Itachi said.

"I don't care about Konoha as a whole. I only care about certain people within the Village. If he guarantees that they won't be hurt, then I see no harm in helping him" Sasuke said shrugging.

"How can you say that?" Itachi asked incredulously.

"Look at what the Village tried to do to you. I could've lived my whole life without finding out the truth and I would've killed you. I would've killed the only person that ever loved me unconditionally because of this Village's inability to effectively handle its own problems. It's their fault that the Uchiha were isolated and pushed to the edge of the Village. They made our clan the police force, which bred fear and hatred of the Uchiha from other clans, and we were blamed for the Nine Tails attack 16 years ago. That's why we were planning a coup, and that's why you and Obito had to kill everyone. It's Cause and Effect, so this Village hardly deserves the loyalty your giving it" Sasuke snapped at Itachi.

Itachi was shocked by Sasuke's outburst. While what he said was true, there was a tone to his voice that suggested he went through that type of pain before. Itachi couldn't help but think that Sasuke was speaking from personal experience and that bothered him.

Obito was thinking similar thoughts from Sasuke's outburst. The amount of pain that the teenager spoke with almost made him feel regret for all of his actions up to this point. Almost. He still believed in the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan, and soon no one will feel pain ever again. It'll be the perfect world.

"I promise you that my plans will not hurt the ones that you care for. In fact, I guarantee that they'll live better lives if you help me" Obito said.

"What do you mean by that? What are you planning?" Sasuke asked.

"Its the ultimate Genjutsu technique that will trap the entire world in their own perfect reality. As of right now reality is flawed, so I plan on fixing that" Obito said confidently.

Itachi shook his head at the idea of a perfect reality. It simply wasn't possible and if it was, there was bound to be negative repercussions for it, and the entire world being caught in a Genjutsu didn't sound right. Someone had to cast the Jutsu and Itachi shuddered to think about who that person would be.

"Obito wake up, because your vision is flawed. Reality isn't meant to be perfect. Everything happens for a reason. You can't just use a jutsu to change the past as you see fit. There will be conquences that you won't be ready to face" Itachi said.

Sasuke and Obito both looked at Itachi. He made a lot of sense and Sasuke couldn't help but think about what consequences will fall upon him for his actions. He's definitely changed the past since he's came back, and Itachi's words shook him to the core.

"Itachi you speak about consequences for my actions, but I know that you'd like to see your family again. The Infinite Tsukuyomi can do that. It can fix all of our past mistakes, bring back people that have died and whatever the consequences will be, we can face them together. I doubt that anything can take down the combined might of the last three Uchiha" Obito said.

Normally Sasuke would've agreed with Obito, but Itachi's words were still having an affect on him.

"Who did you lose in the past? Who was the person important enough for you to go to such lengths to resurrect them in this 'Perfect Reality'" Sasuke asked.

Obito stiffened. He didn't want to tell them who the person was, but he wanted them to trust him and join his cause. He hadn't spoken about her since her untimely death at the hands of Kakashi. The one person that had once trusted unconditionally is the same one that had the blood of his most important person on his hands.

"Her name was Rin" Obito said quietly.

Sasuke and Itachi eyes both widened. It was the first genuine show of emotion that either of them had seen from Obito.

"Who was she to you?" Sasuke said trying to pry for more information. Obito sighed and sat down on one of the empty couches, as he braced himself to tell the story.

"She was to me what Hinata is to you now, and what Izumi Uchiha was to Itachi. She was the only one who believed in me during my academy days, and she promised that she would stay by my side. She was captured by Kirigakure and forced to be the Three Tail Jinchuuriki. Kakashi was sent on a mission to retrieve her, and it was successful, but they were being followed by the Kirigakure shinobi. I rushed there as fast as I could, but when I got there all I saw was Rin willingly jump in front of Kakashi's Chidori" Obito said looking at the faces of Itachi and Sasuke.

When he noticed that neither were giving him a look of pity, he took a breath and continued.

"She knew that they were using her. They probably planned to unleash the Three Tails on Konoha, so she killed herself before she had the chance to. She killed herself for the safety of this pathetic excuse for a Village, and the worst part about it is that I was late again. If I was only a few minutes faster I could've prevented it. Me and Kakashi share our Sharingan, and I know we could've taken them, but I was late. That was the day I unlocked my Mangekyou and I killed all of them, but it still wasn't enough to fill the hole inside of me. That's why I need the Infinite Tsukuyomi" Obito finished.

Everyone was silent as the information digested. Itachi had vaguely remembered the events that Obito described, but he was just a kid.

"I know how you feel, I lost my girlfriend too, but you don't see me trying to trap the world in a Genjutsu" Itachi said trying to reason with him.

"You don't understand what I feel Itachi. I saw Izumi's Uchiha's corpse, and there was no stab wounds like the rest of our family. She also had a peaceful look on her face, so I can tell that you trapped her in a Genjutsu were you two probably had a whole life together. She passed on happily" Obito said glaring at Itachi who looked away solemnly.

"It's true, but that doesn't change the fact that she's dead now" Itachi said quietly.

"Doesn't matter. I didn't have the chance to have a life with Rin at all" Obito said before looking at Sasuke.

"How would you feel if the Hyuuga Heiress was in Rin's place and you were in mine? Wouldn't use any means to get her back?" Obito asked.

Sasuke was quiet as he thought about Obito's question. He didn't have to think for very long, because he knew that he would do whatever he could to get Hinata back, and he would kill whoever stood in his way with the exceptions of maybe Itachi, Neji and Naruto. Even then, Sasuke wasn't sure that he wouldn't kill them as well if Hinata's life was at risk, but he couldn't let Obito think that he was agreeing with his plan.

"I would, but that doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. There must be some other way to go about this" Sasuke said.

"No there isn't. You just admitted yourself that you'd do anything to get your Hyuuga back and that's the situation I'm in. If that's truly the way you feel then you would join me" Obito said.

"Is this the way Rin would've wanted you to live?" Sasuke countered.

"Don't you dare pretend like you knew what Rin would've wanted" Obito hissed at Sasuke gripping the couch tightly

"You're the one who compared Rin to Hinata, and if she is anything like Hinata then she wouldn't have wanted you to go down this path. She'd want you to continue living and to do your best to make sure that what happened to her didn't happen to anyone else, and she'd appalled by the idea of the Infinite Tsukuyomi" Sasuke continued.

"Shut up Sasuke" Obito said as he began to shake.

"In fact, not only would she be appalled, but she'd also be disappointed because you failed to honor her memory" Sasuke said.

"Shut up Sasuke" Obito said again as he stood up with his Sharingan activated.

His chakra flared around him threateningly, as he glared at Sasuke. Itachi and Sasuke both activated their Sharingan as well, but neither moved. Sasuke continued speaking.

"She's probably looking at you right now with nothing but disgust and contempt because of how you chose to live after her death."

"I SAID SHUT UP" Obito yelled as he charged Sasuke with two wooden rods sticking out of his hands. Everyone moved as a blur and stopped.

Sasuke had Kusanagi pointed at Obito's heart with lightning coursing through the blade, while Obito had one of the rods a few centimeters away from Sasuke's forehead. The other rod was pointing at Itachi's cheek while Itachi had a Kunai at Obito's throat.

No one made a move as the last of the mighty Uchiha clan all looked at each other with their Sharingan blazing brightly, waiting on someone to make the first move. This was a tense situation that could easily result in the extinction of their clan which was something that neither of them wanted.

"Obito retract your wooden rods" Itachi said calmly trying to defuse the situation. He killed enough Uchiha, and he didn't want to do it anymore.

Obito said nothing but when he gulped he felt the cold steel of Itachi's kunai lightly graze his throat. If he was to move even the slightest bit, then he would be cut by a weapon, but the same could also be said for Sasuke and Itachi.

"The truth hurts doesn't it? Why don't you stop living in the past and start living in the present. Your obsession with creating a 'Perfect Reality' isn't going to change the past. It's spitting on the grave of the person you care about the most" Sasuke said.

Obito thought for a moment on what Sasuke said. What Sasuke was saying made a lot of sense, but at the same time Madara's teachings were echoing in his mind. Obito knew that Sasuke was too young to know Rin personally, but he had almost been spot on when it came to what she would've wanted. If he continued to go down the path that Madara had made for him then he'd be dishonoring Rin, but if he did as Sasuke said then it would mean to let go of any chance to see Rin again.

Obito sighed as he retracted the wooden rod, causing Itachi and Sasuke to put their weapons away as well.

"Can you honestly tell me that living in this reality is better than the world that the Infinite Tsukuyomi can create?" Obito asked.

Both Sasuke and Itachi nodded, but Obito still wasn't fully convinced.

"Prove it. Allow me to put you and Hinata in a Tsukuyomi for 2 hours, but it'll feel like you've been there for a month. It'll contain a perfect world in your minds, and if you can honestly say that you prefer this flawed reality to the Tsukuyomi then I will abandon my plans for the Infinite Tsukuyomi" Obito said.

"I'd have no problem doing that but how can I trust that you won't be trying to harm Hinata and I?" Sasuke asked.

"Itachi will be watching me the whole time to make sure that I'm not trying anything with you two. If he suspects that I'm endangering your lives then he is more than capable of releasing the Genjutsu" Obito reasoned.

Sasuke and Itachi looked to each other for a moment, having a silent conversation before nodding in agreement, but Obito wasn't done.

"However, if even one of you happen to like the Tsukuyomi world more than this one then you will join me" Obito said

Itachi frowned, but Sasuke nodded.

"I agree to your terms. When do you want to do this?" Sasuke asked.

"Tomorrow night in the Forest of Death. That way no one will bother us, but I will I know if you two are telling the truth?" Obito asked.

"Hinata's a terrible liar and I won't lie" Sasuke said simply, but Obito shook his head.

"That's not good enough, I want a reliable lie detector. I'll kidnap an interrogator from a nearby village for this task if it's necessary" Obito said, but Itachi just smirked and shook his head.

"There's no need to do that. I know someone who can tell if someone is lying by their scent and I have a feeling that she'd be more than willing to do this for us if I asked" Itachi said.

Both Sasuke and Obito looked at him with surprise written on their faces but nodded anyway. It would be more beneficial to them if the person was willing to help them.

Obito nodded and activated his Mangekyou in order to use Kamui. Before he left he looked at his younger cousins for a moment before speaking.

"Good talk, I hope for your sake that you're right because if you're not; I will trap the entire world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and no one will be able to stop me" Obito said as he teleported away.

Sasuke and Itachi looked at each other for a moment after he left. It was clear that Itachi was still skeptical.

"Are you sure about this Sasuke? I know the concept of Tsukuyomi well and he'll be able to manipulate everything while you're there" Itachi said.

"I know, but this is something I have to do if I want him to accept that he has to move on. I know what it's like to be stuck in the past and focus on one thing and if it wasn't for the help of certain people, I'd still be like that. Obito should be given the chance to right his wrongs, and I'll help anyway I can" Sasuke said.

Again Itachi got the feeling that Sasuke was speaking from experience. Of course he could be talking about the massacre, and his friends helping him, but Itachi got the feeling that it wasn't what Sasuke meant.

Before Itachi could voice his thoughts he was once again interrupted and this time it was by the front door opening. Naruto walked in solemnly with tears in his eyes and the two brothers instantly knew that something was wrong.

Kakashi, Hanare, Gaara, Haku, Neji, Sakura, and Hinata walked in behind him, all with sympathetic looks on their faces. Sasuke was about to ask what was wrong, but as soon as he made eye contact with Naruto, the boy opened his mouth.

"Granny Tsunade just told me that Jiraiya is dead"

XxXxXx

Obito was thoroughly confused. In one night of talking to his family, they have turn his whole world upside down.

All of Madara's teachings and plans were falling apart, and it was all because of the words of a 16 year old that had never met Rin, explaining to him what Rin would've wanted. Obito needed to think because he was sure that if he didn't, he would make rash decisions.

He had teleported to the border of the land of fire to be alone and think, but he was surprised when saw the 5 remaining Paths of Pein cross the border. Curious, Obito decided to approach them.

"What are you doing here Pein?" Obito asked making them turn their attention towards him.

"Madara. I wasn't made aware that you would be here. I was heading towards the Hidden Leaf Village to capture the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki" The Deva Path said.

' _ **That's not good. I don't want him near the Leaf Village until I'm sure about what I'm going to do. I'll just have to turn his attention elsewhere'**_ Obito thought to himself.

"You no longer need to worry about the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki because I will take care of him personally. Go capture the Seven Tail Jinchuuriki, she's just a girl, but her powers are quite fearsome. She was even able to defeat Itachi with some help of course" Obito lied trying to cover for his cousin.

He realized that Itachi had abandoned the Akatsuki and he knew that Pein wouldn't take kindly to that information. He figured that if he thought that Itachi was dead then Obito wouldn't have to worry about the man eventually looking for him.

"It is unfortunate to hear about Itachi, but as you wish Madara. While I'm going that way I'll stop by Amekagure to grab Konan. I have received word that Kisame has returned with a piece of the Eight Tail's body and heavy injuries so we've decided to gather with Kakazu and Hidan to attack the Cloud together" The Deva Path said.

Obito nodded, not caring about the fate of the Cloud Village in the slightest.

"Alright see that you capture both the Eight and Two Tails while you're in the Cloud. Send Zetsu to report the result of the attack" Obito said.

The Deva Path nodded and sprinted away back the way he came with the other paths following closely behind. Obito waited until they were out of sight before he let out a sigh of relief. That could've been a terrible situation.

He still didn't care about the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki or the Leaf Village, but he didn't want to risk Sasuke and Itachi having a confrontation with Pein. He knew based off of their confrontation that they were both capable shinobi, but Pein has the Rinnegan. There was was a chance that one or both of the brothers could be injured in battle, so Obito opted to avoid it all together.

"Well now I have time to think until tomorrow night. It'll be the day that decides the fate of the shinobi world" Obito said to no one in particular as he entered his Kamui dimension.

He had preparations to make.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Itachi listened to Naruto tell them about how Tsunade had a Anbu interrupt his date with Haku and call him to the Hokage Office. There was an old toad waiting for him along with Kakashi, Hanare, Gaara, Sakura and Neji. As soon as he walked in the room Tsunade told him the terrible news.

Sasuke didn't know how to react to this. He knew that Jiraiya had died in his previous life, but he wasn't around to see how Naruto handled it. His best friend looked absolutely pitiful, and it seemed like nothing could cheer him up despite everyone's best efforts. They had even offered to get Ramen, but Naruto denied the idea stating that he wasn't hungry.

He just gripped Haku tightly and stared into space. Even Kurama tried to cheer him up.

" **Get a hold of yourself Naruto, you've been through this kind of thing before and you overcame it. I have faith that you do it this time around too"** The Bijuu said.

"I've never dealt with something like this Kurama. This is the first time that I'm dealing with the loss of someone who genuinely cared for me, and this pain is unbearable" Naruto replied internally.

Kurama rolled his eyes. Of course Naruto didn't understand what he meant by that, but that was probably a good thing. Who knows what kind of rash decisions he'd make if he knew that Sasuke could've stopped Jiraiya's death if he told Naruto ahead of time.

He didn't understand why Sasuke was still keeping things a secret, but he decided that he won't tell Naruto if Sasuke didn't. Kami knows he didn't want an angry Uchiha on his case for spoiling the secret.

"Jiraiya would've wanted you to be strong Naruto. You're his legacy now" Kakashi said quietly trying to contain his emotion. Not only did Kakashi lose his friend and a mentor, but he also lost the author to his favorite book series.

"Jiraiya-sensei sent the old toad to help you succeed against an opponent that he failed against. That means he trusts you to finish things for him. That should show you how confident he is in your abilities and how much he believed in you" Haku said.

"You can't allow yourself to be swallowed in your own darkness. I know what that's like, and I don't wish that on you. We will deal with the Akatsuki together and honor Jiraiya's memory" Gaara said.

"We'll all stand by you" Sakura said and Neji nodded in agreement.

"I know from personal experience that it'll feel good to get vengeance on the person responsible for his death, but I also know that it can consume you if you're not careful. I'll be here by your side to make sure you aren't obsessed with it. You may be a loser, but I won't allow you make the same mistakes that I did" Sasuke said.

Naruto smiled slightly at everyone's words. It reminded him that there were plenty of people that cared about him. He wasn't alone and he didn't have to deal with his pain by himself.

"Thank you everyone" Naruto said, and even though he didn't hold his usual bright smile, there was a little bit more brightness showing in his eyes.

Everyone smiled at Naruto, and the room held a peaceful moment of silence before a loud growling sound was heard. Naruto blushed in embarrassment when everyone looked at him.

"Okay maybe I was a little hungry" Naruto said.

Everyone laughed and together the group headed to Ichiraku's. Naruto was still upset but he did feel a lot better thanks to his friends. Besides Jiraiya wouldn't want him to starve himself for his sake, Naruto rationalized as he began to laugh and enjoy his time with his friends.

' _ **I hope that you're watching me now Pervy Sage. I promise that I'll fulfill the prophecy that you were always talking about, or I'll die trying'**_ Naruto thought.

XxXxXx

Jiraiya sneezed again. He must've been getting sick or something because he's been sneezing a lot throughout the day. Orochimaru looked at him.

"Looks like someone's talking about you" he said. Jiraiya shrugged and smirked at his old teammate.

"Who wouldn't be talking about the legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya? My reputation throughout the 5 Great nations cements my status as a great ninja, also I'm sure that all the ladies that have spent the night with me still talk about it" Jiraiya said proudly.

"Yeah I'm sure that you have a positive reputation with the woman. That's why Tsunade never gave you a chance" Orochimaru said rolling his eyes.

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU SNAKE?" Jiraiya shouted in outrage.

Orochimaru smirked at him and was about respond when he felt goosebumps erupt all over his body. He pushed Jiraiya into a nearby bush and jumped in after him. Orochimaru then covered the surprised Jiraiya's mouth and peaked through a small hole in the bush.

Moments later the 5 remaining Paths of Pein sprinted by their hiding place at a rapid speed.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru stayed behind the bushes for a few more minutes before they left their hiding space both with beads of sweat dripping down their faces.

"They were coming from the direction of Konoha. It may be too late, and the Village could be destroyed. We could go after them or we could check for any survivors, but I doubt that he'd leave any" Orochimaru said. Jiraiya nodded, his face deathly serious.

"We'll go to the Village first to check for any survivors. How long until we reach Konoha if we run nonstop at full speed?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'd say about a day and a half. You sure you can handle pushing your body like that? You're still not completely healed" Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya nodded. The sooner they got the Konoha, the sooner he'd find out if everyone was okay. He can handle the pain until then.

"Well then let's go" Jiraiya said jumping into the nearest tree.

Together the two Sannin raced full speed towards Konoha not knowing what to expect.

XxXxXx

The next day, Itachi and Sasuke had invited Hana and Hinata over for breakfast to explain what they planned to do that night expecting them to go along willingly, but the woman were not pleased.

"You want me to do what?" Hana growled while grabbing Itachi's collar. He sweat dropped and looked at Sasuke for help, but he wasn't able to because Hinata was frustrated as well.

"You're telling me that you agreed to have us spend a month in an alternate reality that your evil older cousin creates, without consulting me first" Hinata said glaring at Sasuke. The glare was made 20x worse by her activated Byakugan.

"I don't think he's actually evil, he seems more confused then anything. This is our chance to prevent him from enacting his plan without killing him, and when this is over then there's a possibility that he'll join our side" Sasuke explained.

"Shut it brat! I asked Itachi a question. Why did you agree that I'll be your lie detector?" Hana asked.

"Hana please just do me this favor. I trusted you enough to tell you about this, can't you trust me in return" Itachi said calmly grabbing the hands that were on his shirt.

Hana looked at their intertwined hands and looked away blushing, but a frown was still on her face.

"Fine, but you're going to make it up to me" Hana said and Itachi nodded.

"Of course, anything you want" Itachi said with relief evident in his voice.

Now that Hana had agreed, the only one left to convince was Hinata.

"Sasuke I'll do it, but I want you to promise me something" Hinata said.

"Okay what is it?" Sasuke asked.

"After we get back from the Tsukuyomi, I want you to tell me everything about you" Hinata said looking him in the eye.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say that she already knew everything, but a glare from her kept him quiet.

"I've noticed that you've been keeping something from me, but I don't know what it is. If I'm going to do this then I need you to tell me what you're hiding. You know that I tell you everything, so I don't know why you act like you can't trust me" Hinata said with the hurt showing on her face, even with her Byakugan activated.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and then he looked at Itachi, who gave him a look that said 'I want to know too'; Sasuke sighed and pulled Hinata in for a tight hug.

"Alright, when we return from the Tsukuyomi, I'll tell you everything" Sasuke said. Then he loses his eyes kissed Hinata fully on the lips.

He wasn't the one for public displays of affection, but he wanted to comfort Hinata, and if he was being honest with himself, he needed the comfort too. He had just agreed to tell his darkest secret and he didn't know how it would affect his life. He didn't care that Itachi and Hana was watching, or that they could tease him for this. He just wanted to enjoy Hinata while he still could.

He pulled away after a good amount of time and waited for Hinata to her eyes. She had a deep blush on her face, but she met his gaze.

"I promise no more secrets" Sasuke said, Hinata smiled brightly and buried her face in Sasuke's chest.

"Then I'll gladly go into this Genjutsu with you" Hinata said.

Sasuke smiled as well, but he felt a since of nervousness as well. He tightened his grip on Hinata, not yet wanting to let go.

' _ **Tonight is the night that everything changes. I just hope that its for the better'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to embrace Hinata.

 **TBC**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I hope you were surprised by the events of this chapter, and how Obito handled things.**

 **Lusalec, Splaaash- attack- Thank you!**

 **MorpheustheDream- I hope this chapter lived up to the expectations**

 **Telly (Guest)- Thank you for your review and Yep Itachi/Hana it is.**

 **Serus black antihumannature- After this chapter its safe to say that Obito is confused. And Kisame will be back.**

 **Nevvy- I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and yeah ItaHana was the idea ever since I saw the Itachi flashback episodes and noticed that she sat next to him in the academy. Orochimaru saving Jiraiya is going to have a big impact on the story, and as for Kabuto... He'll be popping up soon enough.**

 **I just noticed that I have gotten over 400 reviews for this fic and I just want to thank everyone who reads and reviews this story. I honestly can't believe that I have this many people that enjoy my fic, and I'm grateful beyond words so thank you for that everyone! Also I've gotten a few PM's to put a cover picture on this fic, but I confess that I have no artistic skills at all, so if anyone wants to make one then go for it. I'll appreciate it and of course give you all your credit. Please continue to read and review- Dishon 3**


	26. Perfect Reality (Hinata)

**The Tsukuyomi scenes in this chapter and the next chapter are happening simultaneously. I just wanted to clear this up so that nobody was confused by the events. Now on to the chapter- Dishon 3**

 **Chapter 26**

Later that night, Sasuke, Itachi, Hinata and Hana met up with Obito in the Forest of Death. He was waiting for them with a weird looking orb in his hand.

"What is that?" Itachi asked referring to the orb.

"Since I'm not really an Genjutsu expert like you; I need it's help to create the Tsukuyomi World. I wanted to make sure they each experience what they would perceive as the perfect reality. I just throw it up in front of the moon and they'll be under the influence of the Genjutsu. You and the woman will have to stand behind me if you don't want to be caught in the Jutsu as well. We'll be able to watch what they go through in this world as well" Obito explained.

Itachi nodded and led Hana behind Obito. She sniffed the air around her and flinched a little at what her instincts were telling her.

"He has such a weird smell; It's like he's undecided on something and struggling to make a decision. I don't know if I trust him or not" Hana whispered to Itachi.

"You have a sharp nose" Itachi observed.

That definitely wasn't the response that Hana had wanted because she gave him a mini glare. Itachi chuckled to himself before whispering again.

"Relax. I don't fully trust him either, but I know that he wouldn't try anything reckless. I can easily dispel this Genjutsu if I feel that he's trying to hurt them, and even he's not foolish enough to believe that he could take on all four of us if it were to come to a fight. For now, just be ready" Itachi said.

Hana stayed quiet, but nodded her head in agreement. Oblivious to the conversation going on behind him, Obito spoke to Sasuke and Hinata.

"Are you two ready to go into the Tsukuyomi world?" Obito asked pausing to wait for their response.

When Hinata and Sasuke both nodded in agreement, Obito continued.

"Let me explain how this works. When you wake up you'll be in this exact spot, but you'll be all alone. The world you are about to enter is your individual idea of what a perfect reality would be. Every person you meet while there are not the same people that you know now, but I won't go into details with that because you'll see for yourself soon enough" Obito said.

"We understand. Lets get this over with, so that I can prove to you that living in the present is better than living in some kind of perfect reality" Sasuke said.

With nothing left to say, Obito nodded and threw the orb into the air. Sasuke and Hinata watched as the moon became a blood red color, and the Sharingan tomoe appeared on the orb.

A bright light consumed the area, and engulfed Hinata and Sasuke. With that they were entered into the world of Tsukuyomi.

XxXxXx

Hinata awoke by herself in the Forest of Death. She looked around her surrondings and realized that she was alone.

' _ **Looks like the Jutsu worked. Now I get to spend the next month of my life in a so called 'Perfect Reality'. Might as well go home to see what's different'**_ Hinata thought as she got up and made her way home.

The walk to the Hyuuga Compound was normal enough. The Villagers either ignored her or gave her a kind smile as she walked by them, and the streets of Konoha were as lively as ever even during the nighttime.

She didn't recognize the difference until she got home. At first it was similar with the guards at the front gate bowing to her and welcoming her back home, but when she entered the Compound she was shocked to see the faces of all the Happy Hyuuga.

There wasn't the usual coldness in any of their eyes, and everyone was being more expressive with their emotions. This would normally be highly frowned upon and Hinata found herself smiling at the sight.

She walked into her house with a smile on her face, but she paused when she ran right into her father. He had the same stoic frown on his face that he usually carried.

Hinata was trying her best not to flinch at the look he was giving her. She had chosen not to tell him that she was going to Sasuke's house before she left, and he was likely very upset with her for it.

"Where have you been Hinata?" Hiashi said in a stern voice.

Hinata was composing herself, so that she wouldn't stutter as much when she spoke because she knew that he hated that, but she didn't get the chance to speak. Hiashi decided that he didn't want to hear what Hinata's excuse was and decided to take action, but what Hiashi did left Hinata speechless.

Hiashi grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. It felt like he was genuinely concerned for her well being, and Hinata stiffened in his hold. Her father had never been one for physical displays of affection. Eventually she wrapped her arms back around him and returned the unusual hug.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you. Your uncle and I were 2 minutes away from sending a group to search for you. I don't want you to ever go anywhere with informing me again, okay Hinata?" Hiashi said pulling away from the hug, but leaving his hands on her shoulders.

Hinata could do nothing but nod her head dumbly at her father's words. Just when she was beginning to form coherent thoughts again, her uncle appeared.

"Hinata! It's great to see that you're back. Where did you run off too?" Hizashi said embracing Hinata much like her father had a few moments before.

Hinata was still shocked at the hugs, but she was ready this time and more than willing to reciprocate the action.

"Sorry uncle Hizashi. I just went out for some late night training" Hinata said.

"Hmm late night training? I trust that Sasuke Uchiha was involved in this so called 'training' correct?" Hiashi said rolling his eyes as if he knew that she was trying to hide something.

"W-What!? No it was just m-me" Hinata said while her face turned a dark red color at what he was suggesting.

Hizashi and Hiashi exchanged knowing glances before mutually deciding that they wasn't going to tease Hinata too much.

"I swear you and that boy have been inseparable since he moved in" Hiashi said shaking his head.

Hinata almost fainted when she heard that. Sasuke had moved into the Hyuuga Compound? He lived with her? What room did he stay in? What about Naruto? All these questions ran through her head as she tried to look everywhere but at her father. When her eyes landed on her Uncle's exposed forehead, she was relieved to see the lack of the curse seal.

"Did you remove any more curse seals while I was gone" Hinata said trying to change the subject.

Hiashi and Hizashi gave her twin looks of confusion.

"What are you talking about Hinata? What curse seals?" Hizashi asked.

Hinata really wasn't expecting that response, especially from her uncle. She frowned for a moment.

' _ **Maybe they've all been freed in this world'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she smiled at her uncle.

"Oh nothing. I was just remembering what a Branch Family member was showing me. 'Cursed Seal' was the name of their new technique" Hinata said trying to explain her way out of the corner she backed herself into.

She was just met with more confusion, followed by the words that she never thought she'd ever hear from her father.

"Hinata I think that you've might have hit your head a little bit too hard while you were out training. We don't have what you call a 'Branch Family'. We're just one huge family united by the Hyuuga name. Nobody is above anybody" Hiashi said while placing a palm on Hinata's forehead to check for signs of a concussion.

Hinata looked at them with wide eyes. She definitely didn't expect a change that monumental. She struggled to hold back her tears of happiness as she smiled brightly and lunged at her father; hugging him tightly.

Hiashi returned the hug with equal strength, but looked at Hizashi with a confused expression. Hizashi just shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he looked at the scene.

By the time Hinata had let go off her father, she was able to prevent the tears from falling. While this world was turning out to be great so far, she still had to remember that it was fake, and that it would only last for a month. She couldn't allow herself to get too attached to this version of her father.

"Where is Hanabi-nii?" Hinata asked.

"You know Hanabi, she's in the garden hogging all the attention from your favorite person" Hiashi said with a laugh.

It was weird to hear him laugh, but Hinata wasn't going to complain. Then she actually realized what her father a had said.

' _ **My favorite person? What is Hanabi doing with Sasuke?... How did she get Sasuke in the garden; I can barely get him to go to the flower shop with me'**_ Hinata thought incredulously.

She walked towards the garden determined to get to the bottom of this. She waved bye to both her father and uncle as she speed walked to the Hyuuga garden.

XxXxxx

"Well Hiashi is definitely a different person in this reality. I don't think I've ever seen him so expressive, and the fact that the Hyuuga are united as one family with no Main or Branch families is something that I can see Hinata wanting" Itachi said as he watched through the orb in Obito's hand.

"It looks so phony and mussy to me, but Hinata probably prefers things like that. I can see why this would be perfect to her" Hana said.

"You two haven't seen nothing yet. You'll soon understand why the Tsukuyomi is better than this current reality" Obito said.

No one else said anything else as they turned their attention back to the orb to see what was happening.

XxXxXx

When Hinata opened the door to the garden, she was greeted by the sight of hundreds of lovely flowers. It was clearly larger than it was in the real world, but other than that it was basically the same.

She surveyed the field and quickly found Hanabi. She was laughing and clinging onto a person, but it wasn't Sasuke. Hinata began to approach, but she froze when she realized who the person was.

' _ **No that's not possible. When my father said 'your favorite person', he wasn't talking about Sasuke at all. He was talking about HER'**_ Hinata thought to herself in disbelief.

Hanabi noticed her standing there and gave her a big smile. She let go off the other person and ran over to Hinata to give her a hug.

"Nee-chan I'm glad you're back. Father and uncle were looking everywhere for you" Hanabi said.

Hinata was so shocked at who was in front of her, that she couldn't even respond to her sister. The woman stood up and turned around showing a kind smile on her soft features. Features that Hinata herself shared with the woman. She gave Hinata a look of concern as she walked towards her.

"Hinata are you feeling okay?" The woman asked.

Tears pooled out of Hinata's eyes as she lunged at the other woman, hugging her even tighter than she held her father. The woman was shocked for a moment, but she hugged Hinata back, and soon Hanabi joined in the hug.

She didn't know why her sister was crying, but she wanted to help try to make her feel better. Soon Hinata was composed enough to speak, but tears were still flooding down her face.

"I'm fine mom. Everything is perfect" Hinata said looking at her mom with the brightest smile that she could muster.

"Then why are you crying?" She asked.

"I'm just so happy to see you. I love you mom" Hinata said.

"I love you more. You and your sister are my everything" she responded as the three females stayed in their group hug.

XxXxXx

"That's a low blow Obito. Their mother died soon after Hanabi's birth, when Hinata was only 5. Why bring her back to life for this 2 hour long Genjutsu? That's cruel" Itachi said frowning at Obito who put his hands up feigning innocence.

"I didn't do that. This is Hinata's perfect reality, and apparently her mom is involved. I don't control anything that goes on in there; the only thing that I did was activate the Jutsu. Besides it's only 2 hours to us; Hinata will be with her mother for an entire month. She'll likely thank me" Obito said in a tone of voice that made it easy for Itachi to tell that he was smirking behind the mask.

Things weren't looking good so far and it was only the first day in Hinata's month. She was already enjoying the Genjutsu world a little too much for Itachi to be comfortable.

' _ **Stay Strong Hinata. Sasuke and I are counting on you to be able to overcome this'**_ Itachi thought as he tuned back into the orb.

XxXxXx

Hinata was the happiest that she'd been in a long time.

She had spent last couple of hours in the garden, just talking to her mom and Hanabi. She could've stayed there all night, but a yawn from Hanabi alerted the two woman to just how late it was getting.

"Alright Hanabi it's about time to get you ready for bed" Hikari said while she stood up and smoothed out her dress.

"Aww but mom" Hanabi started, but she was interrupted by another yawn.

Hikari and Hinata both gave her a look that caused Hanabi to confess that she was getting tired.

"I'm going to put your sister to bed, so I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Hinata" Hikari said as she and Hanabi walked out of the garden.

Hinata watched their retreating forms for a moment, before deciding that she should probably get to bed as well. There was no telling what kind of changes would be waiting for her tomorrow.

She entered her room and turned the lights on. She was surprised to a see Sasuke laying on her bed.

' _ **Well maybe it's not that surprising. Father did say that he lived here, so I guess it's only natural that he'd find a way to sleep in the bed with me'**_ Hinata thought smiling when Sasuke got up and hugged her.

"You've been gone a long time beautiful. I was starting to think that you had fallen asleep in the garden again" Sasuke said laughing a little.

Hinata hugged him back and laughed a little with him. She guessed that spending time with her mother and sister in the garden was something that she did often in this reality.

"I've got something special for you" Sasuke said as he released Hinata.

She was about to ask what, but before she could get the words out; a bouquet of beautiful lavender roses were placed in front of her. She looked at Sasuke, who had a bright smile on his face, as he put the roses closer to her.

Hinata took the roses from Sasuke while returning the bright smile. She noticed how his hands lingered on hers when she took the flowers.

"They're beautiful Sasuke. What made you get lavender roses though? I like the color, but its pretty unusual for a rose" Hinata said.

Sasuke smirked like he anticipated that she'd ask him that question. He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

"Lavender Roses symbolize love at first sight, as well as sincere love and appreciation. I couldn't think of a better color to describe how I feel for you" Sasuke whispered in Hinata's ear, causing her to blush.

"W-When did you become a flower expert?" Hinata asked with a teasing smile on her face as she pulled away.

"Ever since you first dragged me into the garden when we were 7. I might've hated it then, but I still payed attention while you were explaining the different flowers types and what they symbolized" Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

' _ **He may be a little sweeter, but he's still acting like the same Sasuke'**_ Hinata thought with a smile.

"It's good to know that you listened to me. You have troubles with that sometimes" Hinata said giving Sasuke a look.

"That's because I'm usually so distracted by your beauty that I can't focus on anything else. I don't know how you can expect me to listen under those circumstances" Sasuke said whining a little.

Hinata blushed deeply at the words. It seemed like this Sasuke was much more expressive, and he had no problems telling her how beautiful he thought she was. Hinata had to admit that it was nice to see this side of him.

"Thank you Sasuke. How's has your day been?" Hinata asked

"It's been filled with he same boring stuff that it's always filled with. A lot of training, and studying with Neji on Hyuuga Clan history, and I managed to get through the entire day without arguing with the Loser even once" Sasuke said obviously proud of himself for the accomplishment.

Hinata was shocked by this, but she was also extremely curious on why he was studying the history of her clan.

"Why were you and Neji studying Hyuuga Clan history?" Hinata asked

Sasuke gave her a confused look, but then laughed it off.

"I know that we're geniuses Hinata, me more so than Neji, but even we aren't naturally born with the knowledge on how to run a clan and since we're the next in line; its important that we know as much as we can about the history" Sasuke said.

' _ **Sasuke and Neji are the front runners to lead the clan? Well I guess that makes sense because Neji was born first and without the Caste System he technically would've been the heir and since Sasuke and I are eventually going to get married, my father must've thought that Sasuke could be the clan head too'**_ Hinata thought trying to wrap her head around it.

"Really? Who would you rather that you become the head or have Neji become the Head?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. She seemed to be asking a lot of questions today. He activated his Sharingan quickly to take a look at her Chakra network. He sighed in relief when he confirmed that it was indeed Hinata and not a transformation jutsu.

' _ **Maybe she just had a long day or something'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he deactivated his Sharingan before she could see it.

"We'll be Co-Heads just like your father and uncle, but I'd prefer it if Neji did all the paperwork and attended all the council meetings. He will be the Hyuuga born leader so it's only right if he does more than me" Sasuke said shrugging.

Hinata was having a hard time processing the information. Not only was the Hyuuga clan united without a Caste System, but apparently they had Co-Heads of the clan. The concept itself was weird to Hinata, but she definitely wasn't going to complain about it.

"Yeah besides you'll have other things to be taking care of" Hinata said referring to his duties to the Uchiha Clan, but Sasuke interpreted her words differently.

"Of course. I would much rather spend time with my wife and any children we have then involve myself in politics" Sasuke said.

Hinata was reverting back to her old habit of blushing every 2 minutes. Over the years she became better at controlling it, but this Tsukuyomi world was just more than she could take. It seemed that everyone hear had the goal of making her blush.

"Where are Naruto and Neji-nii now?" Hinata asked.

"Naruto is either in his room or with Haku somewhere and Neji wanted to get away from the clan for a while, so he's spending the night at Sakura's house" Sasuke said raising an eyebrow before continuing.

"You sure are asking a lot of questions tonight Hime. Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No, no, no, nothing's wrong. I just had a long night training and I might've hit my head harder than I originally thought. My father thought I had a concussion, so I just wanted to make sure I remembered everything important" Hinata said wavering her hands frantically.

She expected him to narrow his eyes and make her tell him the complete truth in typical Sasuke fashion, but she was surprised when he didn't. Instead he placed his hands on her cheeks and looked her right in her eyes, before giving her another smile.

"Okay. I hope that I was able to help you" Sasuke said.

Hinata gulped in seemed like this Sasuke trusted her completely, but wasn't nearly as observant as her Sasuke. He definitely would've known that she was hiding something.

"Well let's go to bed and get some sleep. You said its been a long day and I'm sure a full nights rest will help you process everything" Sasuke said going over to the bed and laying down.

' _ **You have no idea how right you are right now. I definitely need to process all of these changes'**_ Hinata thought as she laid down next to Sasuke.

She cuddled up into him and closed her eyes. She smiled when Sasuke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly towards his body. She was grateful that this Sasuke was apparently still a cuddler. Soon the two drifted off to sleep.

XxXxXx

"Well it seems to me that Hinata thoroughly enjoyed her first day. Are you ready to admit that the Tsukuyomi World is a good idea" Obito said causing Itachi to glare at him.

"Its only been 1 day, and she hasn't met anyone other than her parents and Sasuke. Give her time; I have faith that she'll realize soon enough that the Genjutsu world has its flaws" Itachi said.

"It's called the 'Perfect Reality' for a reason Itachi. There will be no flaws" Obito said arrogantly.

Itachi was about to respond when he heard Hana growl from next to him.

"Will you two idiots shut up and watch. I don't want to hear your thoughts on everything that happens in the Tsukuyomi. If you continue to bicker between yourselves then after this is over I'll have my dogs use you both as chew toys" Hana said.

Obito and Itachi looked at each for a moment and quickly quieted down. Hana smirked with satisfaction and turned her attention back to the orb; Obito leaned over and whispered to Itachi.

"She's quite agressive. I get this feeling that she's just as likely to attack us as she is to help us."

Itachi couldn't help but agree with his cousin's assessment of Hana. The woman could be terrifying when she wanted to be.

"Agreed, so for now I'd think it'd be best if we refrained from arguing with each other. I know that we're both stronger than her, but I don't want to see if she'll actually carry out her threat" Itachi replied in a equally low voice.

Obito nodded in agreement. After that, the two Uchihas tried to stay quiet for the remainder of the time that they were watching Hinata's Tsukuyomi.

XxXxXx

Hinata woke up to the smell of something delicious. She opened her eyes to the sight of a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls being placed on her lap. She then turned to see Sasuke's smiling face.

"Good morning beautiful. I made these cinnamon rolls for you; I know they're your favorite" Sasuke said.

Hinata smiled at his thoughtfulness, but she internally paled. Sasuke didn't know how to cook to save his life. She still remembered how he accidentally set one of the kitchens in the Sound Village on fire trying to boil rice. She still didn't know how he managed to do that, but the memory made her more than skeptical of the delicious smelling sweets in front of her.

"What's wrong Hime, aren't you going to eat one?" Sasuke asked looking at her with a worried expression that Hinata thought looked weird on his face.

She mentally said a quick prayer to Kami before she took a cinnamon roll off the plate and bit into it. Hinata's almost cried at what she was tasting.

It was the best Cinnamon Roll that she ever had in her life.

"This tastes amazing Sasuke" Hinata said quickly finishing the one that she had in her hand and grabbing another one. Sasuke laughed.

"Only the best for the best girlfriend in the ninja world, but unfortunately I have a council meeting that I have to go too now" Sasuke said.

"Its okay I was planning on going out with my mother and Hanabi today anyway. She told me that we need to go to the market to get more food for the family dinner in 4 weeks" Hinata said.

"That's when the Loser officially starts his Hokage training under Tsunade. The dinner is to celebrate his accomplishment" Sasuke said.

"I'm so happy for Naruto" Hinata said honestly. She was surprised but she couldn't allow anything else in this world cause a reaction from her.

"Yeah I remember how much you tightly you held him when Naruto first told us the good news. If it had lasted any longer, then there was a good chance that I would've had to cut Naruto's arm off" Sasuke said while laughing.

Hinata chuckled as well knowing that that's definitely something that he would do.

"I have to go now. Have a good day and I'll see you at dinner" Sasuke said giving Hinata a quick kiss before leaving.

Hinata touched her lips in disbelief of his actions, but soon shook her head and got ready for her day in the market with her mother.

XxXxXx

Turns out that they weren't the only Hyuugas going to the market place. They went with a group of at least fifty women. Looks like when her mom said 'family dinner'; she really meant the entire family.

They had just left the ramen shop, when Hinata came face to face with the Tsukuyomi world's version of the Rookie Nine minus Sasuke. When they noticed her, they smiled and waved her over. Hinata turned to her mother.

"Mom I'm going to go talk to my friends for a minute. I'll be right back" Hikari nodded before responding.

"Of course Hinata, go have fun with your friends. Don't rush back, we have more than enough women here to carry all the bags."

Hinata smiled at her and approached her friends to see what the differences were.

"Hey Hinata! Hey are you doing" Kiba said in a surprisingly quiet voice. Akamaru barked at her in a similarly quiet way.

Hinata only thought about how weird it was for a moment before she replied.

"Hey Kiba and Akamaru, It's nice to see everyone. Why is everyone together?" Hinata asked.

"Naruto thought that it would be a good idea to have a group dinner at Ichiraku's while Neji and Sasuke were at their meeting. I thought that you knew. Naruto said that he told you" Sakura said.

"I knew nothing about this" Hinata confessed.

Everyone turned their heads to look at Naruto who sweat dropped and instantly tried to defend himself.

"I told the Bastard to tell her and he said that he was going to" Naruto said quickly.

"Then why didn't she know about it?" Shino asked raising an eyebrow.

"Guys relax. You know that Sasuke is busy all day with clan affairs. Its possible that he just forgot to tell Hinata or something" Sakura said.

Everyone seemed to except that except for Naruto and Hinata. Both Naruto and Hinata both knew that Sasuke didn't forget anything, but they decided not to say anything. Hinata decided that she was just going to question him on it later.

"Can we just hurry up and get our food? I have better things to do" Shikamaru said while cleaning the wax out of his ear.

"What could be more important than having lunch with your friends?" Ino asked calmly.

"I have clouds to watch and naps to take" Shikamaru replied.

Hinata thought that Ino was going to explode and yell at Shikamaru, or at least hit him a few times, but Ino just sighed and shook her head.

"Sometimes I don't know what to do with you Shikamaru" Ino said as she rolled her eyes and walked towards the Ramen Stand with everyone following behind her.

When Hinata realized that no one else found this interaction to be out of place, she followed her friends.

Once every body was seated and served, Shino spoke to Hinata.

"Hey Hinata I've been wanting to talk to you about a new combination technique that involves Kiba's 'Fang Over Fang' technique, your 'Rotation' technique and my giant parasitic beatles. I feel like it'll be a devastating technique" Shino said.

That was the most that Hinata had ever heard Shino talk in one breath. Hiding her surprise, Hinata responded.

"Yeah that would be amazing, but what kind of enemy would require us to use a combination of those techniques. It'll certainly be move used to kill someone"

"Yes that is true, but I thought that developing the technique would prove to be great bonding time for us. I do enjoy hanging out with you guys" Shino said

"Aww Shino I like spending time with you guys too" Hinata said smiling. She was definitely enjoying this more talkative and open version of her teammate.

"I just wish that Kiba didn't talk at such a low volume most of the time, you have to get him really worked up for him to talk louder" Shino complained.

"Shino, you know I can hear you right?" Kiba said.

"But I cant hear you and that's the problem" Shino replied.

"Do you wanna fight bug boy. We can take this outside" Kiba said standing up and glaring at Shino.

"How am I supposed to be intimidated by a threat when it was whispered to me? But you should really sit down Kiba, that's because, you and Akamaru are no match for me" Shino replied.

Everyone looked on in amusement as the two argued back in forth. At first Hinata was worried, but the more she watched the argument, the more she began to settle down.

Even through the bickering, she could tell that Shino and Kiba were very good friends, and she had to admit that it was nice that Kiba was quiet for a change.

The rest of the lunch was normal. Hinata had many conversations with her friends and it seemed that there were only slight differences in a few of them.

Shikamaru was more or less the same. Still lazy and uninterested in everything.

Choji still ate more than he spoke, but when he did speak he always said something nice.

Ino was different. She was less confrontational and assertive. Her and Sakura were the best of friends and didn't have their petty rivalry.

Sakura was more or less the same, just without her rivalry with Ino. She also didn't speak as much as Hinata would've thought.

Kiba and Akamaru were quieter. He explained to her that Akamaru didn't like loud noises so he tried his best to speak quietly. Besides that, he was the same confrontational and prideful person. He probably still thought that he could take Naruto and Sasuke 1 v 1.

Shino talked much more often. Hinata would be lucky to hear Shino's voice three times in a month if they didn't have a mission, but this Shino apparently had no problem socializing. Hinata would say that he was the person who changed the most in this Genjutsu.

That was until she realized that Naruto had been quiet almost the entire time. He and Haku had been engaged in a conversation the entire time, but she couldn't hear Naruto's normally boisterous voice.

This was one of the weirdest things. Hinata was unnerved by the fact that Naruto was having a casual conversation without yelling, and she was even more disturbed by the fact that Naruto was actually displaying manners while eating his food.

He was on his 4th bowl of Ramen, but he had a Napkin tucked neatly in his shirt and another placed on his lap. Normally there'd be some sort of grease stain on his shirt by now.

"Hey Naruto, how does it feel knowing that you'll be in training to be the Hokage soon?" Hinata asked. Naruto actually swallowed his food before he responded to her. Everyone turned to him, also curious how the blond ninja felt.

"I'm extremely excited. I can't wait to finally achieve my dream. Thank you for supporting me every step of the way everyone. This was only possible because you all believed in me, and I'm especially grateful that you and Neji convinced your clan decided to take in Sasuke and I. I'll be eternally grateful for you and the Hyuuga" Naruto said.

Everyone smiled and gave Naruto various responses. The rest of the lunch consisted of laughter and friends having a good time.

XxXxXx

While Hinata was walking home, she decided that she wanted to visit the Uchiha District. With Sasuke and Naruto living in the Hyuuga Compound, she would've thought that it was empty, but that thought was dismissed when she remembered Itachi.

If this was her 'Perfect Reality' then that meant that Sasuke had been innocent here as well. He was probably living in his old house.

Hinata took out her keys before realizing that she probably wouldn't have a key to Sasuke's house if Sasuke didn't live there. She put her keys back in her pocket and knocked on the door.

She was surprised when it wasn't Itachi who opened it. Instead of Sasuke's older brother opening the door, it was Kiba's older sister, Hana.

She had a frown on her face, but when she noticed that it was Hinata that knocked on the door, the frown was replaced by a smile.

"Hey Hinata! I wasn't expecting a visit from you. How's my future sister in law doing?" Hana said.

' _ **Sister in law? So that must mean...'**_ before Hinata could finish her thought she saw an arm wrap around Hana's midsection. The door opened more to reveal Itachi, who had a goofy smile on his face.

Hinata smiled and fought to hold back a laugh. She could tell that there was Chemistry between those two ever since they had that group dinner after Danzo's trial, and apparently they were together in her perfect world. She wished that she knew how Hana and Itachi from the real world would react to seeing this.

"You're here alone Hinata? Its not like Sasuke to let you go places without him being there as well" Itachi said.

That didn't sound right to Hinata, but she decided that she'd just ignore it. She figured that she'd understand after she had her talk with Sasuke.

"Yeah I just wanted to visit you guys to make sure that you're okay and to ask you if you were planning on coming to the celebration dinner for Naruto" Hinata said.

Itachi and Hana looked at each other for moment. Hinata thought that it was cute that they were having their own little private conversation before answering her. They really were a cute couple in Hinata's opinion.

"Of course, we'd love to be there to celebrate Naruto finally starting his Hokage training. As long as you serve more than just Ramen" Hana said causing Hinata to laugh.

Even though Naruto eats more properly in this world, his obsession with Ramen was still prominent.

"We'll be serving all types of food. I'm glad that you'll be able to make it" Hinata said with a smile.

"As the Uchiha Patriach and Matriach; it'll only be right for us to make an appearance. Whether we want to be there or not" Itachi said causing Hana to roll her eyes and smack the man on his shoulder.

"Don't listen to Itachi. We would've came regardless of our status in the Village" Hana said as she turned to glare at her husband, as if daring him to disagree.

When Hana turned; Hinata noticed the Uchiha Clan symbol showing proudly on the back of her shirt. Hinata smiled knowing that one day, she too will have to wear the symbol of the mighty clan.

Then she realized that since Itachi and Sasuke were the only Uchiha, that it was up to her and Hana to help restore the clan; unless Obito actually joined them afterwords and found someone that would like him. That meant a lot of kids for both woman.

Hinata paled at the thought, she'd have to put her foot down at 5. She didn't want them to be overwhelmed by their own children. Hinata was beginning to think more about her future when Itachi's voice pulled her out of her musings.

"We'll be there Hinata, but its getting pretty late. We don't Sasuke to have to come out and look for you. He tends to be quite dramatic" Itachi said.

Hinata knew that Sasuke was possessive, but they were in the village. They had way too many allies that would die for her, and Hinata was a powerful ninja in her own right. She didn't think that Sasuke would mind her staying out, but Itachi knew this version of Sasuke better than she did, so Hinata just nodded.

"Yeah you're probably right. I'll see you guys at the dinner" Hinata said walking away.

When she got to the gates, she looked back at Itachi and Hana one last time and waved before she left the District.

XxXxXx

After witnessing the recent events of the Tsukuyomi; Obito was looking back and forth between Itachi and Hana. It seemed that the Hyuuga Heiress subconsciously pictured those two as a couple and Obito couldn't have been more surprised.

His mask hid his facial expressions, but he was definitely amused by the reactions of his cousin and the Inuzuka.

Hana had a deep red blush on her face and refused to look at Itachi; while Itachi just had a contemplative look on his face.

Obito was honestly expecting more shock and denial, but both of them remained silent. Because of this, Obito decided to take the liberty of addressing what they had all just witnessed.

"So, is this more to this relationship then you let on Itachi?" Obito asked.

Itachi glared at him almost instantly and Obito would've laughed if he didn't feel the killing intent radiating off of Hana. He quickly tried to ease her anger.

"If it helps, I want to say that you really did look natural with the Uchiha symbol on your clothing. Perhaps this could be a sign for the future" Obito said.

"I thought a told you to shut up" Hana said.

"You did, but come on. You surely have something to say about the recent events. It looked as if you two were married" Obito said.

Hana growled. Obito was about to continue speaking, but he felt a sudden wave a heat nearing him. He narrowly dodged the fireball that Itachi had fired at him.

Obito looked at him surprised that he had the audacity to actually send an attack at him.

"Shut up and watch Obito" Itachi said as he and Hana turned their attention back to the orb.

' _ **Madara had once told me that the Uchiha were an emotional clan. It seems that Itachi is definitely emotional when it comes to this Hana woman; not that I can really talk'**_ Obito thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the orb.

XxXxXx

As soon as returned to the Hyuuga Compound, she was approached by Neji and Sasuke, who had just finished with their meeting.

Neji hugged Hinata, before passing her off to Sasuke who wrapped an arm around her possessively.

"Neji-nii, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. How was your day?" Hinata asked.

Neji and Sasuke exchanged glances seemingly exchanging thoughts, before Neji responded.

"I've been fine Hinata. I've just been so engaged with Clan Affairs that I don't have much time for anyone else besides Sakura, and occasionally my team when I'm allowed to go on missions" Neji said.

"Speaking of Sakura; How do the elders feel about your relationship with her? You're expected to father one of the next heirs, but do the council really like the possibility of a pink haired Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked.

Neji glared at Sasuke who smirked back. Even Hinata laughed a little at the thought. It would be a little silly for Neji to have pink haired children, but she didn't really mind. She would love and spoil them regardless.

"They don't mind who I marry and have children with, as long as its with a strong shinobi. They're too focused on the future children of the Uchiha and Hyuuga Union; that is if you ever actually get the backbone to have sex with Hinata" Neji replied.

Sasuke and Hinata both blushed at Neji's comment. Hinata thought that Sasuke would have a response ready, but he just stayed quiet and looked away. It wasn't like her Sasuke to get stumped like that, and her Sasuke rarely blushed. Little by little she was stating to see the differences between the two.

"Well with that being said I'm sure that you two have a lot to talk about. I'll see you around" Neji said while walking away with a victorious smirk on his face.

Soon after that, Sasuke led Hinata to her room, so that they can talk in private. This was exactly what Hinata wanted, because she had some questions that needed to be answered.

When they entered the room, Hinata closed the door and locked it. She then ordered Sasuke to sit down. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at Hinata's command, but he still obeyed it. He walked over to the bed and sat down, waiting for Hinata to tell him what was on her mind.

He didn't have to wait long because as soon as he sat down; Hinata was glaring at him.

"Why didn't you tell me that the Rookie Nine were having lunch today?" Hinata asked.

"I forgot" Sasuke said shrugging his shoulders.

Hinata looked at Sasuke in disbelief. She couldn't believe that he had lied to her. She instantly got upset.

"If you lie to me again then you're sleeping in your room for the next month" Hinata said.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the threat. He wasn't prepared for that, Hinata had never been this forceful to get answers out of him before.

"Okay so maybe I didn't forget, I just didn't trust you to hang out with the rest the group without me. I know how guys look at you" Sasuke said.

Hinata was speechless. She couldn't believe that Sasuke had just said that. When she finally removed from the shock she addressed Sasuke again.

"What did you say?" Hinata asked hoping that she just heard him wrong.

When Sasuke repeated himself; Hinata felt like she'd been hit in the gut. Everything in this world was so perfect until that moment, and Hinata felt as though she had woke up from a dream. She finally realized the flaw in this world; Sasuke didn't completely trust her.

He was much sweeter, he had no problem expressing how beautiful he thought she was, he gave her flowers and he was willing to become a Hyuuga Clan head to marry her, but he didn't trust her with everything.

Hinata didn't care about none of the other things, because of that fact. Her Sasuke may have not been as expressive as she would like him to be, and he may hate to get her flowers, but he trusted her completely. He was even willing to tell her his biggest secret when this was all over; even though he was nervous about what the repercussions of telling her would be.

Hinata was now resolved to make it back to her flawed reality if it meant being with the person that she loved the most. Even though she was going to dearly miss seeing her mother's face.

With that thought in mind she turned to leave the room in search of her mother. When Sasuke got up to follow her, she gave him her meanest glare with her Byakugan causing Sasuke to hesitate. When she opened the door she heard Sasuke speak.

"I'm sorry" Hinata paused at how odd the words sounded coming out of his mouth. She wasn't used to hearing those words from him and that just made her even angrier because it reminded her that it wasn't the same Sasuke.

She ignored him and closed the door in search for her mother. Leaving behind the so called 'Perfect' Version of Sasuke, and her enjoyment of the Tsukuyomi world.

XxXxXx

Itachi smiled when he witnessed the events through the orb. It seemed like Hinata had finally woken up and found the flaw. The 'Perfect' Sasuke didn't trust her around other males because he knew that she was beautiful and didn't want to risk the possibility of someone flirting with her.

The actual Sasuke didn't care if Hinata hung other guys because he trusted her completely. He would also violently kill anybody who dared to approach Hinata in anything other than a friendly way, but that wasn't the point.

Obito frowned when he realized that Hinata wasn't as enthusiastic about the world as she had been before. He could tell by watching her mannerisms and the way she talked to others, that she was just acting her part until the time ran out.

Time seemed to go by quickly as they watched Hinata live her life day by day. She spent a lot of time with her mother and rarely interacted with the Sasuke of that world regardless of the boy's endless attempts to reconcile with her.

It seemed like the only thing that Hinata genuinely enjoyed was the time with her mother.

Soon it was Hinata's last hour in the Genjutsu. She was at the dinner table, celebrating Naruto's promotion. She was sitting in the seat between her mother and Sasuke, and she seemed to be having a good time, but it was clear to Hana, Itachi and Obito, that she wasn't really engaged in the activities.

Obito grimaced when the dinner ended and Hinata went to sleep, because he knew that she would awake back in this world. It was clear to him that Hinata enjoyed this reality better than the Tsukuyomi's, so that meant that Sasuke was his last hope.

He wasn't really confident that Sasuke would like the Tsukuyomi. He'd likely just be silent and uncooperative the entire time; that's why he had been so focused on watching Hinata's experience. She was the best chance he had at getting his cousins to help him with his 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' plan, and now it seemed like he'd have to abandon his plans all together and except reality.

The only problem with that is that he'd also have to abandon any hope he had at being with Rin again, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to do that.

' _ **Alright Sasuke. The final decision is with you. Will we destroy this ninja world together, or will I help you protect it?'**_ Obito thought as he turned his attention back to Sasuke and Hinata who were both waking up.

"So Hinata, Sasuke, how'd did you like your perfect reality?" Obito asked.

' _ **This is it'**_ Obito thought awaiting their answers. Tomorrow will be the start of a new life, now Obito just needed to know what kind of life it was.

 **TBC**

 **Next Chapter will be Sasuke's experience in his Tsukuyomi World. I tried to incorporate the RTN movie mechanics, but I don't know if I did it right. I just hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, now on to reviews**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- 1 and 2.) You'll see in the next couple of chapters. 3 and 4.) That will be revealed soon enough too. Just please bare with me.**

 **Dee-kyun- Here's another chapter for you**

 **IamHaein- I thought about it, but I don't think they ever met. Hana and Itachi already had the basis for a relationship because they were academy classmates and they sat next to each other.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Yeah the next couple of chapters should be intense. At least I hope I can make them intense.**

 **MorpheustheDream- Yeah I don't think there was a way for him to go back in time and not affect anything lol, but to answer your question, it will be 2 chapters. This one and the next one.**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you! : ). I hope that you enjoyed this one too.**


	27. Perfect Reality (Sasuke)

**Chapter 27**

When Hinata saw Sasuke after they woke up, she ran over to him and hugged him for moral support. Sasuke looked at the obvious pain that was visible on Hinata's face and waited for her to answer Obito's question as he rubbed her back trying to comfort her. It was clear to him that she had seen something in the Tsukuyomi that she had trouble leaving.

When Hinata finally composed herself enough to speak, she turned to Obito.

"The only thing that I enjoyed about that reality is that my mother was somehow still alive. It made me see what my life would be like if my mother was still around to talk to everyday. I really enjoyed the time I spent with her, and I'll miss her dearly, but I prefer the life I'm living now" Hinata said.

"Are you sure that you'd prefer this reality without your mother?" Obito asked.

"I'm not living without my mother. She watches over me from above and I know that she guides me when I need it. Of course I'd rather her be here physically, but the memories I have of my mom will never disappear and I'll continue to live my current life and hopefully make her proud" Hinata said.

Hinata's words made Obito think back to what Sasuke said about Rin looking down at him with disappointment and disgust. He really didn't want to believe that, but what Hinata had said really made it much more believable. If his loved ones were looking down on him, then there's no doubt that he was disappointing all of them, including Rin, and that thought upset Obito.

"Did you at least enjoy the Tsukuyomi world" Obito asked.

"After I realized the flaw in the Genjutsu; I no longer enjoyed it. I liked spending time with my mother, but I didn't enjoy the World itself" Hinata replied.

"Is she telling the truth" Obito asked Hana, even though he had already figured that she was. They had watched her entire experience in the Tsukuyomi.

Hana sniffed the air and smirked. Obito knew what that meant.

Hana confirmed his thoughts after stating that her scent didn't change after she spoke, signifying that she was indeed telling the truth.

Obito mentally sighed knowing that the only way he could ever see Rin again was if Sasuke preferred the Tsukuyomi over this reality and Obito had a feeling that Sasuke didn't.

They didn't watch Sasuke's experience in the Tsukuyomi because he felt that Hinata was the most likely to enjoy it, so she was the main focus of both he and Itachi. Now that it was time to ask how he felt about the Tsukuyomi; Obito wished that he had watched Sasuke's experience as well.

"How about how you Sasuke? How did enjoy your experience in your own personal 'Perfect Reality'" Obito asked.

When Sasuke didn't reply right away, everyone's attention turned towards him with varying looks on their faces.

Itachi had a look of worry. He was almost certain that his little brother didn't let the Tsukuyomi world persuade him from staying in reality, but when Sasuke didn't answer right away his certainty wavered.

Hana gave him a look of annoyance. She just thought that he was being dramatic, and she didn't have the patience for it.

Obito gave him a look of hope, though his mask covered it up. He was filled with a renewed sense of hope; maybe he wouldn't have to give up his dreams of seeing Rin again after all.

Hinata had confusion on her face as she looked into Sasuke's eyes. She had expected him to answer right away, but the pause confused her. She wondered what he experienced to make him even think about whether or not he actually enjoyed the world.

"I actually really enjoyed it" Sasuke said as he thought back to his experience in the Tsukuyomi.

XxXxXx

 **Start of Tsukuyomi**

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around realizing that he was alone. Sasuke got off the ground with one goal in mind. To prove to Obito that reality was better than this Genjutsu world.

Sasuke walked towards his house and was surprised to see that the lights were on. He hardly ever left the lights on when he left the house, so he was curious to see why they were on.

He entered the house and was instantly assaulted by the smell of the scented candles that he and Itachi loved when they were kids. He never got them after his parents died because he didn't remember the name of them, but maybe Itachi did and got some for the District.

At least that was his first guess, until he saw that the kitchen light was on as well. Itachi wasn't the best cook, he only knew how to make eggs, Naruto had a microwave in his room for his Ramen and Sasuke would never set foot in the kitchen unless Hinata was there to supervise him, so Sasuke knew that only left one person, but he didn't want to believe it.

Sasuke peeked into the kitchen to see the long dark hair of the woman who gave him unconditional love and care as he was growing up. She was doing dishes when noticed him watching her. She turned around with a soft smile on her face.

"Welcome home Sasuke"

Sasuke had to fight to keep his emotions restrained. He had figured that something like this would happen, but he still wasn't prepared for the emotional reaction. He gave his best smile and walked over to his mother to give her a hug. His actions surprised Mikoto but she hugged back immediately.

"It's nice seeing you again Mother. I've missed you" Sasuke said gripping her tightly.

"You've only been gone for a few hours, but I've missed you too. I'm glad that you made it home safely" Mikoto said gripping Sasuke just as tightly. She didn't know what made Sasuke want to hug her like this, but she was always up for holding her baby; no matter how old he got.

Sasuke let go off his mother with the smile still on his face. A smile that looked almost identical to the one that Mikoto was giving him. No wonder people always told him that he looked like his mother before the massacre. He could definitely tell that he had taken after her in looks.

"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"He's on a date with his wives" Mikoto responded shocking Sasuke.

"Wives? What do you mean wives?" Sasuke asked trying to picture Itachi with two women at the same time.

Sasuke had always thought that his brother was too passive to deal with one women, let alone two.

"Don't tell me that you forgot already. You were just teasing him about this" Mikoto said.

"Sorry I was training, so I must've hit my head. Mind jogging my memory?" Sasuke asked.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because right after he said something about hitting his head; Mikoto's motherly instincts took over and she was searching Sasuke for any signs of injury.

When she was satisfied that he didn't seem hurt, she answered his question.

"Itachi is married to Izumi Uchiha and Hana Inuzuka. They've been involved in this weird relationship since their academy days and since Itachi loved them both, and couldn't decide who he would prefer; he just asked them both to marry him. Hana had no problem with it since polygamy isn't uncommon in her clan, but Izumi needed a little convincing. Eventually she agreed and they've been together since" Mikoto explained.

It took all of Sasuke's willpower to keep from laughing at these turn of events. He would've been jealous of his brother having two wives if he didn't feel so sorry for him. He couldn't imagine what Itachi had to go through on the daily basis from a mixture of two different women. Hinata was enough for him.

"Where's father at?" Sasuke asked.

"He's still at the Police Station. I don't think he'll be back tonight" Mikoto said.

' _ **Of course that's where he is. I remember that that's where he stayed most of the time during my childhood. And to think that I used to want to be the leader of the Police Force like he was. I'm glad I grew out of that dream'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.

"Well that's nothing new. I've always wondered about how you felt about him almost never being home" Sasuke said.

"It's not fun, but I understand that he's doing what needs to be done for the benefit of the Village. He's the first line of defense against any attack; especially since Lord Hokage gave him the offer of being his most trusted advisor. They've been working hard together to make sure that Konoha will never be as corrupted as it once was" Mikoto said.

Now that surprised Sasuke. He didn't expect that his father and the Hokage would be working side by side to protect the peace within the Village. That's definitely a good thing about this Tsukuyomi.

He would've asked who the Hokage was, but he didn't to seem suspicious. Instead he decided that he would find out the next day by looking at the Hokage Mountain.

"Alright Mother, I'm heading off to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow" Sasuke said walking towards his room.

"Of course, Goodnight Sasuke" Mikoto replied as she turned around to finish the dishes.

Sasuke laid down in his bed with his normal stoic face. He may have enjoyed the fact that his parents and the rest of his clan wasn't dead, but he was still focused on reality. It would take more than that to change his opinion on things.

' _ **I'll see what else this world has to offer in the morning. 1 day down, 29 more to go'**_ Sasuke thought as he drifted off to sleep.

XxXxXx

The next day, Sasuke was walking around the Village trying to see what else was changed in this so called 'Perfect Reality'. He decided to look for Naruto fist to see if his friend was any different because he did often wish that he wasn't such an idiot.

He passed by the Ramen Stand and surprisingly Naruto wasn't there. He wasn't at the Ramen Stand, and he wasn't at the Uchiha District, so Sasuke was about to check Haku and Zabuza's house, but he stopped when he saw Team 8 walking towards him.

Shino looked more or less the same as Sasuke remembered him, Kiba looked as cocky as ever, as he and Akamaru were walking towards him with a fanged smirk, but Hinata looked different. Like really different.

She still wore her favorite jacket, but it was unzipped, revealing a top that showed off her ample breasts and exposed her soft stomach to the world. She also had on a relatively short pair of gym shorts that showed off her long luscious legs. Her lips were also covered in lip gloss which made them even more attractive then they usually were to Sasuke.

Sasuke felt the heat rush to face, but he refused to blush in front of her friends. He also wasn't sure if he wanted to drool or cover her up; Hinata's body was amazing, but it was something that Sasuke thought was his and his alone.

"Hello Sasuke" Shino said quietly.

"What's up Bro" Kiba said.

Sasuke nodded at the two, even though it was weird that Kiba was calling him 'Bro'.

' _ **Guess it's not that weird considering that Itachi and Hana might get together in the real world. It's still weird to me that Itachi has 2 wives. That just su- WOAH'**_ Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted as Hinata grabbed the back of his head roughly and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Sasuke could do nothing but respond to the intense kiss. It was unexpected but it definitely wasn't unwanted. Sasuke opened an eye to see that people were looking at them, and tried to break away because he wasn't an exhibitionist, but Hinata had other ideas.

When she felt that Sasuke was trying to pull away, she gripped his hair tighter and stuck her tongue in his mouth. When Sasuke felt Hinata's tongue his eyes closed once again. He no longer cared about others watching and returned the kiss with equal passion.

They stayed that way for a while, until the need to breathe became to great to ignore. They broke apart, both breathing heavily trying to get the oxygen that they desperately needed.

When they both finally recovered, Hinata laid her head on Sasuke's chest with a satisfied smile and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's good to see you" Hinata said.

"It's good to see you too. Can I ask what caused that unexpected kiss" Sasuke said smirking.

Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but didn't get the chance as Kiba spoke up.

"She's been complaining all day about how she didn't get to see you yesterday and what she would do to you when she saw you" Kiba said with a smirk.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and glared at Kiba which made both him and Akamaru whimper in fear. Even Sasuke was a little thrown off by Hinata's sudden mood change. Her glare was also just as menacingly as any glare that he could've made.

' _ **She must've mastered the 'Death Glare' in this reality. That's actually pretty scary'**_ Sasuke thought with a sweat drop going down the side of his head.

"Shut up dog boy, unless you want to walk around with a muzzle on" Hinata said.

Knowing that Hinata would carry out her threat, Kiba decided that it would be in his best interests to stay quiet.

For a moment, Sasuke was shocked by what Hinata had said but then he couldn't contain the smirk of approval and actually let out a small chuckle, which made Kiba growl.

"What's so funny Uchiha? Do you want to fight?" Kiba said.

Kiba let his Chakra flare around him viciously and he was prepping himself to attack Sasuke. Hinata got in front of Sasuke protectively and Sasuke raised his eyebrow, not even bothering to activate his Sharingan.

Seeing that Kiba was about to attack Sasuke; Shino decided that it would be best if he intervened. He didn't want his friend to experience the pain and embarrassment that he was forced to go through the last time he attacked Sasuke.

"Kiba I'd reconsider your decision to attack Sasuke. That's because there is only one way that the battle will conclude. Not only will you be defeated, but Hinata would most likely put you back on the leash again" Shino said logically.

Kiba grimaced. He still couldn't believe that Hinata did that.

Sasuke wasn't struggling to hold back a laugh when he heard about the leash. It looked like this Hinata actually took his advice and got a leash for her dog teammate. This day was turning out to be great.

"You got lucky Sasuke. If Hinata wasn't here then I would've taught you a lesson for laughing at me" Kiba said cracking his knuckles. Akamaru barked beside him in agreement.

Sasuke didn't even have to respond because Hinata spoke up.

"What did I tell you about threatening my boyfriend?" Hinata asked walking towards Kiba.

Kiba yelped and took off running with Akamaru hot on his trial. Hinata and Sasuke both had satisfied smirks on their faces.

"I'll go make sure he gets home safely. I'll see you guys later" Shino said sighing as he walked away in the direction Kiba ran in, sending his bugs up ahead to make the search easier.

When they were alone, Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and walked right up into Sasuke's face and looked at his lips unashamed and with no blush on her face.

"So were you doing something, or do you wanna head to my place to continue where we left off?" Hinata asked in a suggestive voice.

Sasuke mouth went dry and suddenly he had trouble remembering that he was looking for Naruto. Luckily for Sasuke, his best friend chose that moment to show up.

"Hey Hinata, Bastard. What's up" Naruto said with Haku by his side.

Sasuke sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance. He wasn't done debating whether or not he was going to take Hinata up on her offer.

"I was just looking for you Loser" Sasuke said wrapping his arm around Hinata by habit. Hinata grabbed the hand of the arm that was wrapped around her and intertwined their fingers.

"Really? Haku and I just left my house. Mom demanded that I ate something other than Ramen for once and Haku agreed with her. They tied me to a chair and forced me to eat something different" Naruto said with a pout. Haku rolled her eyes at his pouting.

"It's not like we didn't give you choices to choose from. You were being irrational so we had to tie you down so that you'd eat" Haku said.

"If dad wasn't in the office, he'd definitely be on my side" Naruto said quietly.

Hinata laughed at the story and Sasuke was amused as well, but he caught something that was even better than Naruto being tied down.

' _ **So it seems like the Loser's parents have been revived as well. That's good. I'm glad that he can be happy as well'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he watched Naruto and Haku argue until Haku pulled out her senbon needles shutting Naruto up.

"Anyway Bastard what did you want" Naruto asked.

"Oh I just wanted to train, but it seems to me like you've been through enough torture for a week. We'll train some other time" Sasuke said beginning to walk away with Hinata.

"I'm always down to kick your ass" Naruto said stopping Sasuke.

"Hn. That's if you can. You can't even beat Haku and your saying you can defeat me?" Sasuke said arrogantly, turning to look at him.

"I cant beat Haku, but you can't beat Hinata, so I'd say the odds are pretty even" Naruto said.

"Hinata would destroy Haku in a fight, so the odds aren't even" Sasuke countered.

"That's idiotic. Hinata holds the advantage in Taijutsu but Haku is superior in both Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, so your argument is invalid" Naruto replied.

"Hinata's Byakugan makes her unable to be caught in Genjutsu unless she willingly allows it and Haku's 'Crystal Ice Mirrors' are only dangerous against ninja with no Hyuuga training. Hinata's 'Rotation' wouldn't allow her to get touched by the needles" Sasuke argued.

"The 'Rotation' technique is dependent on Hinata's stamina, and I'm positive that Haku can outlast that and send a barrage of Senbon needles at her. Surely one will break through Hinata's defense and that's all she needs" Naruto argued back while walking towards Sasuke and getting in his face.

Sasuke was actually very impressed by the fact that Naruto was still capable of carrying on this argument with him. Usually by this time he would've run out of counters and attacked him, but this Naruto was still arguing with valid points.

This made Sasuke even more determined to prove his point to his best friend. Sasuke would never lose a argument to Naruto, especially in his so called 'Perfect Reality'.

"What makes you think that Hinata will allow Haku to stay in the fight long enough for her Stamina to drain? You're being pathetically optimistic" Sasuke said.

"Haku isn't some push over that will be defeated in minutes. She's a talented shinobi that many fear, so I doubt that Hinata can just destroy her that easily" Naruto said.

The two friends argued back and forth neither wanted to concede defeat to the other, but they were so caught up in their argument that they didn't feel the fearsome aura radiating off of their respective girlfriends.

"She has lightning Chakra that combines with her 'Gentle Fist'. Hinata can easily dispatch Haku with a well placed 'Air Palm'" Sasuke said.

"You sound foolish considering that Haku can hop from mirror to mirror. She won't be hit by a long range attack" Naruto said.

"She only has a limited amount of mirrors that she can make at a time. Hinata can capitalize on that" Sasuke replied.

"Oh yeah? Well Haku looks better so there" Naruto said running out of comebacks.

Sasuke smirked knowing that Naruto had reached the limit of his intelligence. If Naruto attacked him then he won the argument.

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but was frozen as he finally noticed the aura emitting from Hinata and Haku. Naruto noticed it as well, but it was far too late as the two men were pinned to a nearby building by a flurry of well aimed Senbon Needles.

Unfortunately for them that wasn't the only attack they suffered because before either Sasuke or Naruto could even think about pulling the senbon out of the wall; Hinata appeared before them and roughly locked up their Chakra points rendering the two powerful shinobi essentially helpless.

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked up at the females who were glaring at them.

"Are you two done?" Haku asked with her arms crossed.

When they nodded, Hinata and Haku smiled, but the smiles look evil, and the two males from Team 7 couldn't help but gulp in anticipation of what they were planning on doing to them.

"Well I'm glad that your done, but you still have to learn your lesson, so we'll leave you here until dinnertime" Hinata said.

"WHAT!? THAT'S NOT FAIR HINA-CHAN; IT'S ONLY LUNCHTIME RIGHT NOW. WE'LL STARVE" Naruto shouted as he tried to move around, but failed miserably. Sasuke was panicked as well, but he did a better job of hiding it.

"Hinata, Haku, lets be reasonable for a moment. I am the son of the Police Chief and the Loser is the son of the 4th Hokage; you can't just leave us here and expect there not to be a penalty" Sasuke said trying to convince the girls to free them, or at least him.

His plan backfired when Hinata got into his face with her Byakugan activated and poked him hard in the chest with a chakra infused finger.

"Were you threatening us Sasuke Uchiha? Because if you were then I'm thinking that you must not want dinner. Maybe I'll leave you here overnight to think about what you should and shouldn't say to your beautiful girlfriend" Hinata said. Then when she deactivated her Byakugan and began to walk away; Sasuke panicked.

"Wait, I admit that I was wrong. I shouldn't have suggested that, but I thought that you wanted to continue where we left off earlier? How are we supposed to do that if I'm pinned to this wall and drained of my chakra?" Sasuke asked trying to manipulate his way out of the situation.

Hinata stopped and turned around. She made a beeline towards Sasuke's pinned body and stopped right in front of him. Sasuke smirked inwardly as he thought that she was going to free him, but she didn't, much to his dismay.

Instead she placed her hands on his face, leaned forward and kissed him fully on the lips. Sasuke responded to the kiss immediately by instinct, but it didn't take long for Sasuke to realize that there was something different about this kiss. The longer Hinata kissed him, the less chakra he felt in his body.

His eyes widened when he realized what she was doing. She was sucking the chakra out of his body through the kiss. Sasuke tried to break the kiss, but he was unable to move and Hinata kept a firm grip on his face.

When Hinata was satisfied, she pulled away with a smile on her face.

"There. That kiss should tide me over until dinnertime" Hinata said.

It's been a long time since Sasuke had felt this weak and he couldn't believe that Hinata was the cost of it.

"Why did you drain more of my chakra?" Sasuke asked.

"That was for trying to manipulate me. I know you Sasuke and I'm insulted that you thought that you could do that to me. I had to punish you for the attempt" Hinata replied with a smirk that Sasuke found both evil and sexy.

"Well we'll see you boys at dinnertime, and If you're good then we'll have Ramen" Haku said to Naruto before she and Hinata walked away, leaving the two powerful men drained of Chakra and pinned to the wall for the whole village to see.

"This is all your fault Bastard" Naruto said to his best friend.

"Shut up Loser" Sasuke replied.

And for once in his life, Naruto listened to Sasuke and kept quiet. The two men stayed there pinned to the wall waiting for dinnertime, and their freedom.

XxXxXx

About an hour later, Sasuke and Naruto were approached by Neji, Sakura, Kakashi and Hanare. Both Neji and Kakashi had smirks on their faces, though Kakashi's wasn't visible.

"Let me guess. You two got into another stupid argument and were put in your place by your girlfriends" Neji said.

When neither Sasuke or Naruto answered; Neji knew that he was right in his assumption.

"You two should really learn from your past mistakes. How long will you guys be pinned this time?" Neji asked.

' _ **This happens often?'**_ Sasuke thought incredulously.

"Just until dinnertime" Naruto muttered.

"Oh well that's not too bad. They showed mercy on you guys this time, so consider yourselves lucky" Kakashi said. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his sensei.

"Stop blabbering and get us down already" Sasuke said tired of lacking chakra and being pinned to the wall. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"What are you crazy? Why would we do something like that? Haku and Hinata-sama would hunt us down if we aided you during your punishment. I for one will not put myself in that kind of danger" Neji said with a frown.

"I agree with Neji. You can't seriously expect us to endanger ourselves to help you escape from the punishment that you two likely brought upon yourselves. That would be idiotic" Kakashi said.

"But Kaka-sensei, weren't you the one who said that ninjas who abandon their friends are the worst type of scum. Surely you wouldn't turn your back on your principles?" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke smirked when he saw Kakashi twitched. Naruto had a good point; if Kakashi didn't help them then he'd be a hypocrite. Maybe the Naruto in this world wasn't quite the same idiot as he was in the real world.

"Ugh fine you win. I'll help you, but don't you dare tell Hinata and Haku" Kakashi said as he walked towards Sasuke and Naruto's pinned bodies.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded with twin smirks on their faces, but they disappeared when a body moved in front of them to prevent Kakashi from freeing them. They both sweat dropped when they realized that it was Hanare, and she didn't look happy.

"So you were just going to free them without knowing why Hinata and Haku pinned them in the first place? I won't allow it" Hanare said.

"Now, now Hanare, maybe you can just move out of the way. You're not in any condition to try and stop me right now. Any negative activity that you partake in could be potentially bad for the baby" Kakashi said.

' _ **Baby!?'**_ Sasuke thought in surprise, but when he looked around at the unsurprised expressions of everyone else, he knew that it was knowledge that he supposedly got before yesterday.

"What did you just say to me?" Hanare asked lowly.

Now Kakashi wasn't stupid, he could feel the chakra emitting from Hanare, but he truly believed that she wouldn't attack him while she was pregnant, so he walked around her. This proved to be his fatal mistake.

"KAKASHI WATCH OUT" Neji shouted.

Kakashi turned around just in time to dodge Hanare's kunai only to get knocked out by a hard fist by Sakura. After that Hanare dragged Kakashi's still body over to the wall that Sasuke and Naruto were pinned to and sat him there. Sakura then used her monster strength to embed the kunai through Kakashi's shirt all the way to the hilt, effectively pinning him.

Then the two women turned to Neji who gulped in fear and began to back away slowly.

"Why did you get involved Sakura?" Neji asked as the women started to approach him.

"Because you tried to warn him. That wasn't very fair Neji" Sakura said sweetly, but Neji knew that voice. That's the voice she used right before she told him to sleep on the couch.

"It was reflect. He's a friend and it's my duty to inform my friends of any danger that is coming towards him" Neji said trying to defend himself.

"Well maybe it's best if you spend time with your friends since you care about them so much" Sakura said taking out a kunai.

At this point Neji knew that he only had two options. He could run and escape them, but possibly get teased by Sasuke and Naruto, or he can take his punishment with pride and willingly allowed them to pin him to the wall with his friends. Being a Hyuuga, the choice was obvious.

Neji kept his head up high as he tried to run away from Sakura and Hanare to avoid capture, but it didn't take long for them to catch him.

He was pinned to the wall with the others, Sakura and Hanare said that they'd be back at dinnertime before walking away together. Neji looked away from the glare that Sasuke and Naruto were giving him.

"I can't believe you tried to run away!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It was a matter of self preservation. If I didn't run then I would've ended up like Kakashi" Neji explained.

The three teens looked at the still unconscious form of Kakashi and flinched. Sasuke and Naruto had to admit that Neji had a point, even if it did make him a coward.

"Well there's only 2 hours left till dinnertime, so now we wait" Sasuke said. Naruto and Neji nodded in agreement and together the three friends stayed pinned to the wall ignoring the laughs and looks they were getting from the citizens of the village.

XxXxXx

Another hour passed and by this time Kakashi had woken up. They explained to him the situation and Kakashi nodded. He had already tried to free himself, but Sakura had drilled the kunai too deeply into the wall and it wouldn't budge, so Kakashi just shrugged and pulled out a copy of Icha Icha Paradise and began reading.

Soon the four were approached by Itachi and his wives Izumi and Hana. When Itachi noticed the situation that they were in he instantly knew what had happened.

"So Naruto and my brother got into an argument that resulted in them getting pinned, Kakashi tried to help, but knocked out and pinned, and Neji tried to run, but was caught and pinned" Itachi said causing the four ninja to glare at him.

"I hate that you're able to do that" Naruto said.

"They don't call me a genius for nothing" Itachi replied.

"How did you know that I was knocked out?" Kakashi asked raising his eye from his book.

"You are reading much slower than you usually do, indicating that you have a headache. Not to mention the fact that there's a giant knot on the side of your face" Itachi said to his former Anbu Captain.

"Why did you assume that I ran!?" Neji said obviously insulted.

"You've done it before. You probably tried to justify it by keeping your head high or labeling it as 'self preservation', but I know that you're absolutely terrified of an angry Sakura" Itachi said nonchalantly making Neji frown at him.

"Are you not afraid of your wives?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course not. We have a great relationship, so there's nothing to be scared of Sasuke" Itachi replied.

Hana noticed a quick change in Sasuke's scent, making her suspicious.

"Be careful, he's planning something" Hana whispered to Itachi. Itachi smirked and nodded; Hana always warned him of any potential negative situations. He was definitely very fortunate to have her.

"Well if that's true then you'd have no problem freeing us from this wall" Sasuke said trying to convince him.

"I'm not foolish like you little brother. I would never do anything that could result in me being pinned on that wall with the rest of you" Itachi said with a smirk.

Sasuke frowned at being called foolish, but he couldn't really defend himself while being pinned to the wall.

"Well it was nice talking to you, but have to get home. We have a mission in the morning so we have to pack tonight. Hopefully the girls don't forget to come back for you" Itachi said walking away.

The four shinobi just glared at the retreating form of the Uchiha Heir. All promising to get revenge when they were free.

XxXxXx

When dinnertime came, the women all came back to the spot where they left their boyfriends pinned.

They all had smiles on their faces because their boyfriends looked starving. They didn't like hurting them, but sometimes they had to remind them who was in charge of their respective relationships.

When the men were all freed, Naruto was the one that spoke up first.

"We're sorry girls, we didn't mean to upset you from our arguing" Naruto said.

"And I didn't mean to imply that you were weak because of your pregnancy" Kakashi said.

"I shouldn't have warn Kakashi because I knew that he was in the wrong" Neji said added his apology.

Then they all looked at Sasuke who hadn't said anything. They've been practicing their apologies for the last 30 minutes and Sasuke was the only one who didn't participate. Now he was struggling to come up with something to say and Hinata was waiting.

"I regret trying to manipulate you into freeing me, and I should've ended my debate with the Loser earlier so it didn't escalate to the level that it got to" Sasuke said.

Hinata smiled and nodded, accepting his apology.

"Good. Glad you boys learned your lesson, now let's go eat" Hanare said grabbing Kakashi's hand happily as if the whole situation hadn't happened.

The men all sweat dropped, but the girls mouthed the word 'Hormones' and shrugged their shoulders before grabbing their boyfriend's hands as well and walking them towards Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.

The group ate their food in peace, with a slight argument breaking out between Neji and Naruto halfway through. It would've resulted in blows, but the combined glare of Haku and Sakura calmed everything down immediately. When dinner was over, everyone said there goodbyes as they walked in different directions to go home.

Sasuke and Hinata were walking hand in hand towards the Hyuuga Compound. Sasuke thought that he was taking her straight home, but Hinata had other ideas.

She pulled him into a nearby alley and pushed him against the wall kissing him heavily. Sasuke beginning to get used to her random attacks so he kissed her back with the same amount of passion.

This makeout session lasted for a few more minutes before Hinata was starting to get friskier and moved her hands down from Sasuke's chest to rest on his belt.

Sasuke wasn't prepared for this action. Hinata gave him a knowing smirk and put her hand in his pants to grip him.

Sasuke exhaled sharply at the foreign feeling of someone's hand touching him there. Hinata kissed him again as she stroked him, and Sasuke was almost lost to the sensation, but then Hinata stopped suddenly.

Sasuke felt a sense of abandonment and suddenly felt like he was burning up. Hinata smirked at his reaction and stroked him one more time before letting him go quickly. Sasuke looked at her for an explanation of her actions.

"Someone's coming" Hinata said simply.

' _ **Whoever it is better have a good fucking reason to be coming here, because I'm going to kill them if they don't'.**_ Sasuke thought with his Sharingan activating.

30 seconds later an Anbu appeared right in front of Sasuke and Hinata. He bowed slightly at the Hyuuga Heiress signifying that he was from the Hyuuga Clan before addressing Sasuke.

"The Hokage has called you for your daily torture session" The Anbu said getting Sasuke's attention.

Sasuke didn't know what he was talking about, but he was definitely curious about it. He nodded and turned to Hinata.

"I'll see you later Hime, we have unfinished business" Sasuke said kissing her forehead and teleporting away.

Hinata smirked to herself and she could tell that the Anbu was uncomfortable behind his mask.

"Do you want me to escort you home Hinata-sama?" He asked but he jumped when Hinata activated her Byakugan and glared at him.

"Do I look like I need help walking home? Get lost" Hinata ordered.

The man didn't need to be told twice as he teleported away leaving Hinata by herself in the alley.

XxXxXx

Sasuke was headed down to the dungeons with an evil smirk on his face. Naruto's father Minato had informed him that this was his assigned month to torture Danzo as much as he'd like for the crimes that he had tried to commit against the Uchiha Clan.

He explained that if Itachi didn't inform him of the plan then there would've been a good chance that he would've had to massacre his entire clan for the sake of peace. Minato didn't find that exceptable and arrested Danzo immediately. The 3rd Hokage had been against it, but Minato didn't care and his mind probed.

They were disgusted at all the things that he'd done, and Minato sentenced him to death, but Fugaku proposed another idea that would satisfy the Uchiha Clan as well. Danzo was to be tortured until he was nearly dead and healed in the morning to repeat the cycle again and again.

Sasuke personally couldn't think of a better punishment for such an evil man. This meant that he'd get to beat Danzo to near death everyday for his stay in this Genjutsu and he couldn't think of many better ways to spend his time. Well besides spending time with Hinata or his mother.

When Sasuke reached Danzo's cell, he saw his body chained to wall with chakra cuffs on him. Sasuke smirked when he realized how fun this would be for him.

"Hello Danzo" Sasuke said entering the cell.

"You again? Didn't you run out of creative ways to torture me months ago? And I don't understand why you hate me so much; I had already agreed with Itachi to let you live. I'd think that you'd be grateful that I was planning to spare you" Danzo said.

"You were going to force me to grow up alone and traumatized. That alone is reason to hate you, and don't worry; I'm sure I'll find some even more creative ways to torture you this time around" Sasuke said giving Danzo a smirk that chilled him to the core.

Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan as he walked towards Danzo and the only thing that guards heard for the rest of the night were Danzo's blood curdling screams.

 **End of Tsukuyomi**

XxXxXx

After that Sasuke had spent the remaining month that he had in Tsukuyomi enjoying himself by torturing Danzo whenever he could.

He also spent a lot of time with Hinata, but they never went further than touching each other's intimate areas. It wasn't that Sasuke didn't have the opportunities to do it; It was just that Sasuke wanted his first time to be with his Hinata, not the Genjutsu one.

He hung out with family often and his father even told him how proud he was of both he and Itachi, which was more than he ever got from his father in real life.

The rest of the Rookie Nine weren't that annoying and he didn't mind hanging out with them. Except for Kiba being his 'Brother'. That part was kind of annoying but he'd probably have to get used to that if Itachi and Hana get together.

He had even helped Kakashi and Hanare pick out baby names when they annouced that he and Hinata would be the god parents, with Sakura and Naruto acting as the babies older siblings.

Overall Sasuke had to admit that he thoroughly enjoyed himself the entire time he was there, and he wanted to tell the truth so he said as much.

Everyone was looking at him with shock visible in their features. Even Obito, who had wanted this reaction, was shocked beyond words.

Itachi and Hinata looked towards Hana hoping that he was lying and just kidding, but a nod from the woman confirmed that it was the truth.

"Great! I'm glad that you see things my way Sasuke; we can proceed with the plan immediately and help the rest of the world see their perfect reality" Obito said once he recovered from the shock.

"Wait, I said that I enjoyed it and it was by all means perfect. You did a good job creating a place that I enjoyed, but your reality will never be able to compare to this world for one simple reason" Sasuke said.

"What is that?" Obito asked confused. He thought that Sasuke was on his side, but apparently he still liked this world over his perfect one.

"I basically created this one" Sasuke said shocking everyone present. Sasuke sighed at the looks that everyone was giving him. He turned to Itachi.

"Can you and Hana go get Naruto, Kakashi, and Neji and meet me at home. Just them, make sure their women don't come with them under any circumstances. The rest of us will be there waiting for you" Sasuke said.

Itachi was still surprised, but he nodded and grabbed Hana so that they can go do what they were told. When Itachi left, Sasuke looked at Hinata and Obito.

"Let's go to the Uchiha District. I have some explaining to do" Sasuke said.

' _ **I just hope that this doesn't back fire on me and I hope that they can still accept me after they know the truth. I'm actually nervous'**_ Sasuke thought as he kept moving towards his home.

Everything changes tonight.

 **TBC**

 **Nevvy- That's exactly what it was! Hinata's own subconscious insecurity because of Sasuke hiding a secret from her. I'm glad you picked up on that and no hints came out, but I hope you enjoy what I did.**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- He didn't see anything wrong with it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though.**

 **Bella-Swan11- We'll see how they handle it next chapter.**

 **MorpheustheDream- Yes they both preferred the real world for different reasons. Obito's reuniting with Kakashi will come next chapter, you'll see how they'll interact.**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- Uhm I never really thought about it. Is that something you're interested in seeing?**

 **zigmas- Yeah I actually couldn't imagine any version of Sasuke cheating on Hinata so I had come up with a realistic alternative. And you'll see next chapter.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Glad you enjoyed it!**

 **Splaaash- attack- Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the route I took with Sasuke's 'Perfect Reality'**

 **Telluric- It's good to see that you made an account, Welcome to the family officially! and yes this chapter showed Sasuke's experience. I hope you liked it.**

 **Fuuyuki756- Sorry I just saw this review, but I'm glad that you enjoy it, and I hope that you continue to enjoy it.**

 **Thank you to everyone who continues to Read and Review the fic. Please continue to give me feedback and your opinions on the story. Also if you have suggestions on future events then let me know and I'll see if I can incorporate them into the story -Dishon 3**


	28. The Truth

**Chapter 28**

About 30 minutes later, Sasuke had assembled Naruto, Kakashi, Neji, Hinata, Itachi and Obito in the living room of his house. They were all looking at him as he paced around unsure of where it start or how he was going to phrase the information that he was going to tell them.

He could tell that Obito was on edge because of Kakashi's presence. He obviously still somewhat blamed Kakashi for the death of Rin and Sasuke knew that he'd have to address that situation before Obito decided to cause an even bigger problem and attack his sensei. Tonight was already stressful enough and Sasuke didn't want to have anything else to worry about other than telling everyone the truth. Finally knowing how to begin, Sasuke turned to speak to his audience.

"Alright I've called you all here to tell you all my deepest secret. Nothing that you hear today will be discussed outside of this group, but first I want to introduce you all to a long lost family member" Sasuke said motioning for Obito to get up and come over to him.

Neji, Kakashi and Naruto all gave Obito a shocked looked when Sasuke introduced him as a family member. That obviously meant that the man was an Uchiha and that was surprising. They couldn't stop staring at the man who sat on the nearest couch.

After thinking about it for sometime, Obito decided to get up and join Sasuke at the front of the room, but he didn't say anything because he was too busy glaring daggers at Kakashi.

The copy ninja noticed this and gave the other masked nin a look of confusion. Something about the man seemed familiar, but he couldn't really put his finger on it. Kakashi was snapped out of his musings by Sasuke's voice.

"Go on, introduce yourself" Sasuke said, curious to see what he would say.

Obito thought for a moment. He didn't know if he wanted Kakashi to know his true identity yet because he wasn't sure if he wanted kill him or not.

Realistically, Obito understood that Kakashi didn't willing shove his Chidori through Rin's heart. Hell he watched the man cry until he passed out from exhaustion, but at the same time; He couldn't forgive the man for allowing Rin to be put in that situation in the first place.

In Obito's mind, Kakashi was supposed to be the one who protected Rin, while he was recovering from the boulder crushing his body, but he had failed and Rin died. This left Obito feeling betrayed.

It was for that reason that Obito was not going to reveal who he really was to them, because he wasn't ready to come face to face with his former teammate and friend.

"I am Madara Uchiha" Obito said in a lower voice to disguise his real voice.

"Madara Uchiha? Isn't he the man who helped found the Village alongside the 1st Hokage?" Neji asked.

"That's correct Neji, and he was killed in the Valley of the End by the 1st Hokage in their last duel, but even if he did somehow survive that, then he'd be at least 100 years old by now. Certainly not in the prime condition to fight" Kakashi said.

"The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated, and as for my youthful appearance... I have amassed an endless amount of Jutsu over my lifetime, and one of which is basically eternal youth" Obito responded in his 'Madara' voice.

Naruto, Neji and Kakashi looked at him in amazement, Hana and Hinata knew the truth so they just shook their heads at how gullible they were; while Itachi and Sasuke both rolled their eyes at the man's response.

Sasuke had figured that he'd say that to try to hide his identity from Kakashi, but he had no patience for Obito's games. He was too tense to allow any type of deception from anyone in the room and that included Obito.

He unsheathed Kusanagi and quiclkly swung his sword at Obito's face before the other man could try to dodge it. Obito still managed to dodge the attack, but Sasuke smirked as he realized that he was able to cut what he was trying to cut. The mask split into four pieces and fell to the ground revealing the scared face of Obito.

"Obito?" Kakashi asked as he looked at his former teammate with a mixture of fear and a little bit of hope.

"Sasuke I should kill you for your actions. Do you have any idea what you have done!?" Obito growled at Sasuke with his Sharingan blazing.

Sasuke just activated his Sharingan and glared right back at Obito. If Obito wanted to make a problem out of what he did then Sasuke was all for it; He could really use a stress relieving fight.

When it looked like Obito might've attacked Sasuke; Kakashi decided to try to talk to him again.

"Obito is that really you?" Kakashi asked walking towards him.

As Kakashi got closer, Obito let a sharp wooden rod come out of his hand as a warning sign and pointed it at him, causing Kakashi to stop his approach.

"I thought the boulder killed you, but you've been alive this whole time? Where have you been?" Kakashi asked.

"I've been alone to do deal with your betrayal that's where I've been" Obito said testily.

"Betrayal? What are your talking about" Kakashi asked.

He was genuinely happy to be seeing his teammate after so many years of thinking that he was dead, but he was only met with hostility from Obito and he didn't know the reason why.

"I only asked you to do one thing for me when I was on death's door and you failed to do it. It's your fault that Rin died, and by your hand no less. Even she did kill herself willingly; it shouldn't have even gotten to that point because you were supposed to be protecting her" Obito said.

Kakashi's eyes widened, but he couldn't argue with Obito's words. It was his job to protect Rin and he couldn't do it. He did fail him. Then Kakashi's eyes narrowed when he fully digested what Obito had said.

"Wait a minute, how did you know that Rin killed herself? No one knew that information except for me" Kakashi said accusingly.

Obito flinched internally, but didn't stop glaring at Kakashi. He took a quick breath before he responded.

"I know that because I witnessed it happen. I had heard that you were getting chased, so I left the person who saved me to try and help you guys fight, but I didn't get there in time. By time I arrived to help; Rin had already shoved herself onto your Chidori" Obito said.

The room was quiet as everyone looked at the former students of the 4th Hokage. Kakashi thought over what Obito had said calmly. His first reaction was to angrily lash out at Obito for being late once again because he could've helped him fight, but that's exactly why Kakashi was still calm.

He remembered that he passed out from exhaustion right after Rin died, and that was while he was still surrounded by a group of Blood Mist Shinobi, but when he had regained his consciousness, the Blood Mist Shinobi had all been killed.

He didn't know how that had happened, but now Kakashi had a feeling that Obito was the reason behind it.

"So you're the one who killed all of the enemy Shinobi?" Kakashi asked pausing to give Obito the chance to respond.

When Obito nodded, Kakashi continued his question.

"But I struggled with them and I was always the superior fighter between us. I mean, you couldn't even beat Gai in the Chunin Exams, so how did you defeat that many shinobi of that caliber back then?" Kakashi asked.

Obito was offended by the fact that Kakashi thought that it was necessary to bring up his Chunin Exam match with Gai in front of all these people. That was so long ago and Obito was sure that he could take the Spandex lover now if he tried.

"Shut up about the Chunin Exams Kakashi, and if you must know; witnessing the death of Rin enraged me and activated my Mangekyou Sharingan. I was able to easily overpower and kill all of them while you were passed out" Obito said.

Kakashi nodded his head in acceptance, but then another question popped up in his mind.

"Why didn't you stay until I woke up, and return to the Village with me? Sensei would've been overjoyed to know that you were alive. You could've helped us stop the Nine Tails attack 16 years ago, you could've even helped Itachi with the Uchiha Clan situation. Where were you all this time?" Kakashi asked.

"You don't get to question me on my decisions Kakashi. Not after what you did" Obito said stubbornly.

Kakashi had enough of Obito's nonsense, so he grabbed his collar and pinned him against the closest wall. Obito wasn't quick enough to escape Kakashi's grasp but he did have a kunai place right in front of Kakashi's stomach.

Kakashi didn't waver at the kunai being pressed against his stomach; instead he glared at Obito with the Sharingan eye that he had given him.

"I'm your friend Obito. Stop acting like I killed Rin on purpose because I miss her too, and let me remind you that you were the one that was missing. We thought that you were dead, but you were alive this entire time. I could just as easily say that Rin wouldn't have gotten kidnapped if you were in the Village rather than wherever you were at the time. Instead of placing blame on one another why don't we just go back to being the friends and teammates that we once were. We both know that that's what Rin would've wanted" Kakashi said.

Obito glared at Kakashi, but thought about what he was said and he knew that what Kakashi said was right. Rin would always do her best to make sure that he and Kakashi were getting along back when they were kids. No matter how much he and Kakashi fought, Rin was right there to mediate them, and he had no doubt that Rin would've continued to do so if she was still alive.

Because of this fact, Obito decided that he should probably be more tolerant of Kakashi and tell him what he was planning.

"To answer your question Kakashi, I couldn't return the Village when I knew that Rin wasn't here. I couldn't except a reality without Rin here, so I began my plans to create the Perfect Genjutsu so that no one will ever have to be in pain again. Everyone will live their perfect life" Obito said.

Kakashi was interested by the thought of a Perfect Reality but he knew that such things were impossible. Everything in life happened for a reason and anything that tampers with it could have unforeseen consequences.

"Who would the caster of this Jutsu be?" Kakashi asked.

Obito looked away thinking about what to say to him without revealing the actual mastermind behind the plan, but Sasuke interrupted deciding that this will give him a good way to start his confession.

"The caster of the Jutsu is the same one responsible for saving Obito's life and twisting his mind. His name is Madara Uchiha" Sasuke said making everyone's attention leave the former teammates and turn towards to him.

XxXxXx

While the group was still reeling from Sasuke's words; some unwelcome visitors were surprised as well.

"How does the Uchiha Brat know about Madara being behind the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan? He shouldn't have any knowledge of that and I know that Obito didn't say anything because we've been watching him this whole time" White Zetsu asked his other half.

"I have no clue, maybe the fact that they're both reincarnates of Indra makes them more connected than I had originally thought, but regardless of how he found out, this is not good. Not only did we lose Obito, but we also have an enemy that's aware of what our next move is. This means we have to resort to more drastic measures in order to accomplish our goals" Black Zetsu responded.

"What will we do? Without Obito in the frontlines; who will convince Nagato to perform the Rinne-Rebirth technique to bring Madara back to life?" White Zetsu asked.

"This was an unforeseen turn of events, so we'll just have to wing it until we can come up with an alternative. The destruction of Kumogakure and death of the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki should be enough of a catalyst to warrant an immediate Kage Summit. We'll announce our plans of war there" Black Zetsu said.

"We'll be doing that ourselves? Isn't that rather risky seeing that all the shinobi there would have more than enough power to destroy us completely" White Zetsu said.

Black Zetsu was starting to become annoyed with his White counterparts endless array of questions, but he also knew that he had a point.

He was far from the most powerful fighter and White Zetsu was almost just as useless in a fight as he was, and there was a high chance that they wouldn't make it out of the Kage Summit alive if they were to invade it.

Just as he was about to respond to him, he saw a shadow heading towards the Uchiha Graveyard. Black Zetsu was curious about who the figure was that was brave enough to trespass in the Uchiha District, especially the Graveyard.

"Hold that thought. Lets go investigate the figure that just entered the Graveyard" Black Zetsu said.

"Okay but about the secret that Sasuke was going to tell the others? Don't you want to stay around to see what it could be?" White Zetsu asked.

"No. This person might hold promise and help us in our ambition; besides I doubt that Sasuke's secret is anything too important. Lets get going" Black Zetsu said as he and White Zetsu nodded and sunk into the ground to head to the graveyard.

Unaware that if they stayed in that spot for a few more moments; they would've known information that would've been extremely important for them.

XxXxXx

Sasuke looked around at the shocked faces of his friends and Obito and decided that it was now or never.

Taking a large gulp of air, Sasuke spoke once again.

"I know this information because I've lived through this part of my life before" Sasuke said.

Everyone was speechless for a moment before Naruto, being Naruto, spoke up to ask the most obvious question that everyone wanted answered.

"What are you talking about Bastard? What do you mean that you lived through this part of your life before?"

"I am not originally from this time, well my body is, but my soul isn't if that makes any sense" Sasuke said trying to explain.

"No it doesn't make any sense actually" Both Neji and Itachi said simultaneously.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the two, but inwardly sighed. He would have to do a better job of explaining if his fellow geniuses didn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Okay I think it's best if I started from the beginning..." Sasuke said as he told everyone of his past; including information about the 4th Great Shinobi War, Madara's revival, The Ten Tails, and How the Sage of Six Paths placed his soul and memories in his younger body in an effort for him to end the cycle of hatred between his sons that started the whole situation.

When he was finished, he was met with a lot of surprised faces, and unbelieving looks. No one looked like they wanted to believe him, but his story was so unbelievable that it had to be the truth. No one would come up with a story like that as a lie, and the fact that Hana confirmed that he was telling the truth had everyone dying to ask questions.

Sasuke anticipated the fact that everyone would have questions, so he was ready to answer them to the best of his knowledge. It would be unfair to them if he didn't.

"I understand that this is a lot to take in, so I'm open to answer any questions that you all my have" Sasuke said.

It was quiet for a moment before Obito decided to ask the first question.

"So lets say I believe this... story. I want to know what was I like since I originally went along with Madara's plan. Can you tell me that?" Obito asked desperate to know if he ever resolved his internal conflict.

"You were more or less the same, but without me trying to persuade you to change, you were much more involved in your plan. You are actually the one who declared the war on the 5 Great Shinobi Nations, and I know that because I was there with you. I was there to kill Danzo and you were there as backup. You also told me the truth behind the massacre and transplanted Itachi's eyes into me to give me the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. You became the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki and it took the combined efforts of the first four Hokage, Naruto and I to even scratch you, but after you lost the power and Madara was revived; I don't know what happened to you because I was killed by Madara shortly after" Sasuke explained leaving Obito to think about things.

Itachi was the next one in the room that questioned Sasuke.

"What originally would've happened to me without your interference?" Itachi asked. Sasuke took a deep breath before replying.

"I killed you in a fight because I didn't know the truth behind the massacre. Your last words were 'Sorry there won't be a next time Sasuke' and you died with a smile on your face after you poked my forehead for the last time. Then you were resurrected with the Edo Tensei technique and we fought Kabuto together. You used Izanami to release the Jutsu and stop the other Edo Tensei soldiers that Kabuto had. Right before you went away for good you shared with me the complete truth and told me that you would love me forever regardless of the decisions I made" Sasuke said with a little bit of emotion in his voice, but not too much.

Itachi absorbed this information in silence, not really surprised by his own death because it had been what he was planning originally. Then he looked Sasuke in his eyes before asking another question a few moments later.

"What did you decide to do?" Sasuke looked away at that question. Not because he was ashamed of his decision, but because he already knew that Itachi wouldn't have approved of it.

Even though he knew this, he did promise to answer any questions that they had so he turned back to Itachi and answered clearly.

"At first I wanted to destroy the Village because of what they did to you, but eventually I strived to become the Hokage and unite the entire Shinobi World under one common thing; their hatred for me" Sasuke said.

Itachi stiffened but nodded nonetheless, before asking another question that shocked Sasuke.

"I'm sure you know by now that that wasn't what I wanted you to do, but now that I'm alive; do you still plan to do this to unite the shinobi world in fear and hatred towards you?"

Sasuke hadn't really thought about it before. There really wasn't a need for him to do that since Itachi was alive. He was never interested in the title of Kage, he just wanted to unify the Shinobi World and thought that that was the best way to do it at the time.

"I don't know. My any goals when I woke up here, were to kill Danzo and bring you back to the Village to clear your name. Other than that I didn't really have any other ambitions in mind" Sasuke said truthfully.

"What about your promise to end the cycle of hatred between you and Naruto's ancestors?" Hana asked.

"I wasn't worried about that. I spent most of my last life as a rouge shinobi trying to severe that bond, but somehow the loser stayed around and managed to still be my best friend in the end. I knew we'd end up with each other no matter what I did" Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

"What happened with me in your other life?" Neji asked.

"I don't know for sure. To be honest, we hardly interacted while I was in the Village, and I think that you were dead by the time that I arrived on the battlefield. Everyone else from our generation came to show their hostility towards me except you, so I assumed that that's why. Also you still had a curse mark because Hinata didn't come with me to the Sound Village the first time, so she had no way of discovering the technique to remove the curse seals" Sasuke said.

"Hmm. In that case I guess that I should thank you for your interference Uchiha. You've not only warned me about my death, but you started the events that would lead to my liberation. Not just mine; the entire Branch Family have the chance to live seal free so I'm in debt to you" Neji said after spending some time thinking. Sasuke nodded.

He saw Kakashi was about to speak up, so he decided to answer the obvious question before his sensei could voice it.

"You were almost the exact same perverted ninja you are now. The only differences are that you're more powerful because of our Mangekyou training and the fact that we got there in time to prevent you from letting Hanare go" Sasuke said.

"Aww so you were thinking about my happiness? Its good to know that you care about me even though you once betrayed the Village" Kakashi said with a smile teasing Sasuke.

Sasuke and Obito both rolled their eyes at Kakashi trying to make light of a serious situation. Hinata stepped up next.

"So you were all alone the first time around. Where was I at? Surely I wouldn't have wanted you to face all of that alone?" Hinata questioned.

"You weren't around because you didn't really care about me in that life" Sasuke said harshly causing Hinata's eyes to widen in surprise and pain.

' _ **That came out much harsher than I meant for it to come out. I should probably explain more before she gets emotional. The last thing I want is to make her cry'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as Hinata replied.

"What? That can't be true. I care about all my friends, even if they make bad decisions" Hinata said.

"What I meant was that you wasn't really into me romantically. You were obsessed with Naruto the same way my fan girls were obsessed with me, but you were incredibly shy so you would just watch him from a distance instead of saying something. Whenever you did say something, you stuttered horribly and there was a good chance that you'd faint" Sasuke explained.

Hinata frowned and was about to deny that, when she remembered that Naruto saved her from a group of bullies when she was 5; before Sasuke saved her from the Kiri nin when she was 7. Between those ages she did remember feeling something like admiration towards Naruto, and without Sasuke there to sweep her off of her feet, then it was natural to assume that her admiration would turn into love and devotion over time.

"So you just stole Hinata away from Naruto? Geez Sasuke, I thought that you was supposed to be ending the feud between Indra and Ashura, not adding more fire to it" Kakashi said with contemplative look but everyone in the room could tell that he was teasing.

That still didn't stop Sasuke from being defensive.

"Its not like that! Back then Naruto never noticed her affection because he was stuck on Sakura, while Sakura liked me. I was too focused on my revenge to pay much attention to anyone, but if we go by that logic, it would make sense that I would've liked Hinata" Sasuke said.

"Not to mention the fact that Father and Hiashi agreed on a marriage contract between Sasuke and Hinata when they were 6. Its very likely that they would've ended up together anyway if it hadn't been for the massacre" Itachi inputted trying to help his brother's case.

"I don't think that Sasuke stole me from Naruto. From what Sasuke had said, it seemed like I held someone unreciprocated feelings for Naruto. I don't have any memories of this but I definitely prefer my feelings being returned by the person I love" Hinata said smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke felt a weight lift from his chest. He wouldn't admit it, but until that moment, he had still been a little worried that Hinata would change the way she looked at him after she knew the truth. However, Hinata managed to surprise him again by giving him the warmest look that he's seen from her yet.

It felt good to know that she accepted him for everything that he was, even though he had made his fair share of mistakes, and surprisingly Hinata wasn't the only one who seemed to accept his truths.

"So now that you all know the truth, how are you feeling towards me?" Sasuke asked not wanting to lose his friends.

"You already living through a future where I allowed myself to follow Madara's plans really put things into a better perspective for me. Thank you for sharing that with me and I admit that I may have been a little misguided. I still kind of hate Kakashi and this Village but I'm willing to cooperate for the sake of the greater good and to honor Rin's memory" Obito said.

"I'm grateful to you for the changes you've made, so of course our friendship hasn't changed. I'm going to still stay by your side as your ally and friend" Neji said.

"I had my suspicions that something was up when you mastered the Chidori right after I showed you the Jutsu. Also there's no way that an ordinary Genin fresh out of the academy would be able to go 1 on 1 with me the way you did during the bell test. Me knowing the truth behind your power and knowledge changes nothing, you're still my precious student. You even managed to change Obito's mind about doing something stupid and that's tough to do considering how stubborn he is" Kakashi said unable to resist the urge to annoy his former teammate, who glared at him.

"You're my little brother and I will support you regardless of what you do, and the fact that I'm alive and healthy with an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan adds to my gratefulness. Not to mention the fact that I've been pardoned of all my crimes and accepted back home after what I did" Itachi said. Hana just nodded at him, not having anything to input into the conversation.

"You've given me more than enough reason to trust you Sasuke, and I already told you that I will always be by your side. I'm still here with you" Hinata said still smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed in relief when they finished talking, but then he realized that not everyone had spoken. Naruto had yet to say anything since finding out the truth.

He looked over to see his best friend shaking in the corner. It was a lot to take in, but Sasuke didn't think that it would cause that sort of reaction out of him. Then everyone's eyes turned to Naruto as his chakra swelled and the Kyuubi cloak surrounded him.

Sasuke barely had any time to activate his Mangekyou as Naruto grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall shaking the foundation of the house. Everyone stood up ready to intervene, but 6 arms extended from Naruto's body pinning everyone else to the ceiling.

"Naruto what are you doing?" Neji asked struggling to escape the grip.

"Why are you attacking Sasuke? Stop this" Hinata said also trying to escape Naruto's clutches.

Kakashi, Obito and Itachi just stayed quiet and watched to see what would happen. They could've escaped at any time, but they wanted to see what triggered Naruto's violent outburst. If it got too out of hand then they'd step in.

Naruto ignored the questions from his friends as he glared at Sasuke with unshed tears in his eyes before he spoke.

"Kurama already confirmed with me that you were telling the truth about being from the future, so I only have 1 question for you" He said lowly as he stared right into Sasuke's eyes.

"Did you know?"

XxXxXx

Sasuke had an idea about what Naruto was talking about, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Did I know what?"

Naruto tightened his grip on Sasuke and slammed him into the wall again.

"DONT ACT STUPID SASUKE. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IM ASKING" Naruto yelled as the tears began to stream down his face.

"I knew that he died, but I didn't know who caused it, or when it happened" Sasuke answered calmly.

"Why didn't you tell me!? I could've done something. I could've prevented it this time. I could've kept my Godfather alive" Naruto said starting to breakdown as his Kyuubi chakra disappeared.

Everyone was freed from his grip, and they watched the teenager breakdown with solemn looks on their faces.

"The Pervy Sage died because I was unable to help him. Damn Granny Tsuande; why did she allow him to go on such a dangerous mission on his own? He wasn't strong enough for something like that" Naruto said still crying.

"Wow kid, good to know you have all that faith in me" an annoyed voice said.

Everyone turned towards the voice with wide eyes. Standing there by an open window were two of the three legendary Sannin that were believed to be dead. Orochimaru smirked at the reactions that they were getting.

"Why are all of you looking like you've seen a ghost? Though I admit that I am quite pale. You didn't honestly expect us to be defeated so easily did you?" Orochimaru asked sarcastically.

Before anyone could say anything else, Naruto barreled into Jiraiya giving him a hug that nearly shattered Jiraiya's already broken bones.

"Geez kid could you ease up a little? I'm still kind of hurt here" Jiraiya said with a laugh as he fought through the pain to pat Naruto's head.

Everyone looked at the scene with a smile on their faces before Orochimaru spoke up again.

"Aren't you going to give me a hug too Sasuke-kun? You are my precious pupil" Orochimaru asked opening his arms and giving Sasuke a creepy smile that made him glare at the man.

"What are you doing here? How did you survive the destruction of the Sound Village?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru let a fake pout adorn his face.

"And here I thought that my student would be happy to see me as well, but to answer your question; I came to protect the Village from Pein, but apparently he never came and I'm a survivor. You know that" Orochimaru said.

After hearing this, Hinata walked up and gave the older man a hug which surprised him, but he quickly wiped the look of surprise off of his face as he smirked at Sasuke who looked at Hinata in surprise.

"Thank you Hinata-chan it's good to know that at least 1 of my students missed me" Orochimaru said looking at Sasuke, who scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I am glad that you are safe, but that is not why I hugged you" Hinata said.

At Orochimaru's look of confusion, Hinata continued.

"I hugged you because you came here willingly to help the Village that you claimed to hate and at one point wanted to destroy. I knew there was good in you and I'm glad that you're finally allowing it to show" Hinata said with a smile before walking back to Sasuke's side.

Orochimaru frowned at Hinata's words and he could practically feel the smirk that Jiraiya was giving him even though he couldn't see it.

"You have it all wrong Hinata. I was only going to save it, so that I would have the opportunity to destroy it myself at a later date" Orochimaru said justifying his actions.

"You know that I wouldn't let that happen, so why don't you stop trying to act like an evil person. You may have done some evil things, but you're obviously not as bad as you used to be" Jiraiya said rolling his eyes.

Orochimaru gave Jiraiya his fiercest glare, but Jiraiya had long since built up an immunity to it. He grew up receiving them.

"I believe Jiraiya; I don't think you'd be foolish enough to try to destroy the leaf with all of us here, so I wanna know what your motivation is" Itachi said looking at Orochimaru, obviously not trusting him.

Before Orochimaru could answer, Sasuke spoke up.

"Let me guess. You've decided that you wanted to watch me live to see how I affect the shinobi world with my decisions?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Orochimaru gave Sasuke a surprised look before chuckling to himself.

"It didn't take you long to figure that out. As expected from my legacy" Orochimaru said.

' _ **All this talk about Naruto and Sasuke being 'pupils.' I'm the one who trained them first, so if anything their my legacy'**_ Kakashi thought to himself.

He knew better than to say it out loud though. He knew that both Naruto and Sasuke deeply respected their Sannin trainers, even if Sasuke would never admit such a thing out loud.

When Naruto got done hugging Jiraiya, he turned his attention back to Sasuke and gave him a hug as well making him freeze.

"Thank you. You did come back to make everything better. You gave me a home when I was a kid, you've been my friend when everyone else shunned me, and you someone prevented the Pervy Sage's death. I believe that together we can end to feud between our ancestors" Naruto whispered so that only Sasuke could hear before pulling away with a smile on his face.

Sasuke couldn't help by smile back.

Now that he got his big secret off of his chest, he felt like there was nothing that he couldn't accomplish. Even former enemies like Orochimaru and Obito seemed to be on their side now.

Sasuke felt as though he could finally relax and stop worrying about things, but of course he was wrong.

XxXxXx

Two figures stood in the Uchiha Graveyard surrounded by darkness discussing their evil plans.

"I see. That does sound promising. I can contribute even more soldiers but I'll need you to rob more graves for me to get DNA samples. Only the most powerful shinobi will be useful for us if you want to start a war against the 5 great nations"

Zetsu nodded at the observation.

"Don't worry about that we'll be sure to get only the strongest, but in return can you use your Edo Tensei technique to resurrect Madara Uchiha?" Zetsu asked.

"Of course I can, if you bring me some of his genetic material"

"Okay good. The remaining members of the Akatsuki and I will bring you genetic samples of past shinobi and we will also fight by your side. Just remember your end of the deal. Have someone invade the Kage Summit and announce our plans for war to recover the remaining Jinchuuriki" Zetsu said as he melted into the ground.

The other man watched him disappear as he adjusted the glasses on his face. He then gave a fanged smirk showing his satisfaction.

"War huh? This will be fun" Kabuto said with quiet laugh as he gathered up his materials and disappeared into the night.

 **TBC**

 **I know, I know. I took longer than I planned to take on uploading this chapter. Sorry guys! But I hope you all enjoy this chapter on Sasuke's confession, and I also tried to give a little bit of closure to Obito and Kakashi. Don't be scared to tell me what you think about it.**

 **Jiang-sama- I'm so glad that you're enjoying my fic! This actually means a lot to me because I've planning to read your story 'An Uchiha's Legacy' for a while now. My friends told me nothing but good things about it so I can't wait to read and review it. Please tell me any critiques that you see in my story from one SasuHina fan to another.**

 **MorpheustheDream- I don't think Obito is in a hurry to bring that up. Especially after the events of this chapter lol, but eventually it will get addressed and things will get tense.**

 **Indeepsea (Guest)- Welcome back! And thank you for your review, now to answer your questions the best I can. 1) If Obito is dumber here then he was in Canon, I didn't intentionally make him that way. I always viewed him as a conflicted character that was just in a lot pain. I didn't think that Obito would be suspicious because Sasuke didn't give him a reason to be. That's why Itachi was the first one to be suspicious besides him. 2) Sasuke agreed because he knew that that could possibly be the only way to ease Obito's worries and Itachi was there so he didn't really have to worry about Obito trying anything. 3) The Ita/Hana relationship is a preference thing but I can understand where you're coming from. 4) I think that I'm doing a pretty good job with Character development, but if you say I'm not then I'll try harder because I trust your judgement. Your one of the people who've been around since the beginning so thank you for your feedback and I'll try to work on it.**

 **Telluric- Thank you. RTN! Hinata had to be added to the story because I figured that Sasuke would enjoy it. I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations.**

 **Splaaash-attack- I'm glad you liked it! Thank you.**

 **Serenity-Moonstone- I hope you liked it! I don't want to disappoint.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Thank you and yeah I had to give a hint that would give him everyone's attention.**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark- I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Thank you everyone who reads and reviews this fic! Even the trolls are appreciated because they give me something stupid to laugh at. Please continue to read and review- Dishon 3**


	29. Reunions and Plannings

**Chapter 29**

After the revelation of Sasuke's secret; everyone decided to spend the night in the Uchiha District because they were too mentally exhausted to head home.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru didn't hear Sasuke's confession, but they also stayed because they were tired from traveling full speed towards the village while they were low on Chakra.

The next morning, Sasuke woke up with a satisfied smile on this face. He revealed his secret to his most important people and it went better than he could've ever dreamed.

Not only did everyone accept him for his past indiscretions, but some of them even thanked him for changing certain events in history.

' _ **I even managed to keep Hinata by my side. I would've never imagined that when I came back I'd have someone that would manage to make me feel so strongly for them... Is this what love feels like?'**_ Sasuke thought but his thought process was interrupted by a movement next to him.

Sasuke smirked when he felt Hinata cuddle into his side, still sleeping. He couldn't help but look at the Hyuuga Heiress with warmth in his obsidian orbs. She affected his life in many ways that she wasn't even aware of and he was beyond grateful for that.

' _ **This love is vastly different from the love that I have for Itachi and Naruto. This type of love makes me feel warm inside. Well, I already feel warm inside because I'm an Uchiha, but its a different type of warmth!'**_ Sasuke thought trying to rationalize his feelings.

However he didn't have much time to think as Hinata slowly opened her eyes next to him and let out a soft yawn. Seeing this, Sasuke felt the irresistible urge to display his affection for the blue haired woman laying next to him.

He smiled before he gave her a quick, but loving kiss to her forehead. Hinata blushed slightly at the gesture as she blinked up at Sasuke fully waking up.

' _ **He's uncharacteristically affectionate this morning. I wonder what he's thinking about'**_ Hinata thought remembering the overly affectionate Sasuke from the Tsukuyomi. The memory made her frown a little.

Sasuke noticed her frown and spoke up.

"Is there something wrong Hinata? Did I upset you?" Sasuke asked trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he looked at Hinata's surprised face.

The one time that he decided to be the sweet boyfriend to Hinata, she had a frown on her face. Sasuke didn't like that at all and was already planning on never doing it again, but Hinata's response made Sasuke dismiss those thoughts.

"Oh no Sasuke you did nothing wrong. I was just remembering that the Sasuke from the Tsukuyomi would do things like that in the morning too. He also got me flowers often and always made sure that I knew how beautiful he thought I was everyday. He was always so sweet" Hinata said laughing lightly trying to reassure Sasuke.

' _ **If that's her perfect version of me then I guess that could stand to be a little more loving towards her. Especially now that I've realized that I actually do love her'**_ Sasuke thought.

"I can do that" Sasuke said with a straight face, surprising Hinata. She frantically shook her head no which confused Sasuke.

"No you're perfect the way you are. You don't have to do anything like that, because your actions show me that you care for me" Hinata said with a bright smile.

"So you can tell that I love you from the way that I act?" Sasuke asked confused.

Hinata's smile faded and her mouth opened in surprise. She couldn't believe that Sasuke said something like that out loud.

"W-What did you just say?" Hinata stuttered hoping that she wasn't crazy and that she heard what she thought she did. The look of confusion that Sasuke was giving her wasn't helping her hopes.

' _ **There's no way that she didn't hear what I just said; we're far to close to each for that to be a possibly. She must just be surprised that I verbally expressed my love for her. Maybe I can use this to my advantage'**_ Sasuke thought as a smirk slowly began form on his face.

Hinata squeaked as Sasuke rolled over on top of her and put his lips right next to her ear.

"I said that I love you Hime, and I always will" Sasuke whispered.

Hinata's face blushed darker than Sauske's seen it in a long time, but he wasn't done yet. He moved his lips away from her ear to give her a soft kiss on her lips, teasing her.

Hinata could tell that Sasuke's kiss was teasing, but his words were so sincere. Tears of joy began to stream down her face. Sasuke was about to pull back when he felt the tears but Hinata grabbed the back of his neck and kept him where he was as she kissed him back.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to reminded of the Hinata from the Tsukuyomi as Hinata took complete control of the 'innocent' kiss that he had initiated.

What began as teasing from Sasuke had quickly turned into a makeout session that was getting more heated by the moment. Sasuke's hands had began to caress Hinata's bare skin underneath her shirt and Hinata's hands had lost themselves in Sasuke's hair. Hinata could feel something poking her near her belly button, but she was too lost in the kiss to think about what that could be.

Rationally, Sasuke and Hinata knew that they should probably stop, but they were both too absorbed by the raw emotions that they were feeling to stop. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, Naruto chose that moment to barge into the room.

"Hinata, Bastard are you guys up yet? We're going to take... SORRY!" Naruto said as he saw the scene that he walked in on.

Naruto was about to turn to leave, but Sasuke had him pinned to wall faster than he could blink with his sword pressed against his throat and his Mangekyou activated. Naruto gulped nervously at the murderous look in his best friend's eyes.

"You fucking idiot! Have you ever heard of knocking before or is the concept just too complex for you?" Sasuke growled at Naruto.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt anything; I just wanted to let you know that Pervy Sage, Orochimaru and I were about to go to Granny Tsuande's office before she leaves to let her know that Pervy Sage and Orochimaru are alive and back in the Village. I just thought that it would make sense for you and Hinata to go too since you were Orochimaru's students and you could plead his innocence" Naruto said quickly trying not to anger Sasuke anymore.

Sasuke didn't care what Naruto's reasons were behind barging in; He was furious and he intended on teaching his friend some manners. Luckily for Naruto, Hinata chose that moment to intervene.

"Oh that makes a lot of sense actually. We'll be going with you just give me a moment to put on something other this" Hinata said referring to her shorts and tank top.

"Of course Hina-chan but uhh can you tell the Bastard to let me go please? This sword feels really uncomfortable on my neck" Naruto pleaded.

"Now why would I do that?" Hinata asked in a overly sweet voice while she took some of Sasuke's clothes out of the drawer.

"Because I'm your best friend and you love me" Naruto said with a nervous laugh.

Hinata seemed to think about his words for a moment before she smiled brightly at Naruto. Naruto thought that he was saved, but what Hinata said next made his eyes widen in fear.

"You're right. You are my best friend and I do love you as such... but you should learn to knock. This is the only way to ensure that you learn from this mistake" Hinata said as she took the clothes and went into Sasuke's bathroom, pretending not to notice look of betrayal on Naruto's face and the sadistic smirk on Sasuke's when she closed the door.

As soon as the door closed, Naruto's screams could be heard throughout the entire District.

XxXxXx

Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were all walking towards the Hokage Tower. Naruto had a collection of bumps and bruises on his body courtesy of Sasuke, as well as a pout on his face.

" **Fix your face brat. You should've known not to interrupt the Uchiha while he was in the process of mating"** Kurama said with the amusement obvious in his voice.

"The Bastard overreacted, but I expected that from him. What I can't believe is that Hinata just let him attack me like that. There's no loyalty" Naruto said back internally while sending a mini glare towards her.

Kurama laughed at Naruto.

" **That's her mate. She's supposed to act that way, and besides, wouldn't you be upset if the Uchiha barged in while you and Haku were in the process of mating? And based off what I've seen from your mate, she'd do much worse than what Hinata did"** Kurama said trying to reason with his vessel.

Naruto blushed at the memory of him and Haku having sex before he paled at the thought of someone barging in on them. Haku was sure to be murderous and he couldn't deny that he'd be pissed off as well. Kurama had a valid point, but then another disturbing thought popped into his head.

"Yeah you're right. By the way Kurama, are you aware of when I'm having sex?" Naruto asked bluntly not knowing any other way to phrase the question.

Naruto flinched slightly when Kurama's growled.

" **I have no interest in watching the mating rituals of you humans... But I am aware of it"** Kurama replied and Naruto could feel a blush starting to burn his cheeks, but before Naruto could say anything, Kurama spoke again.

" **Not that its any of my business but I suggest that you slow down while your with your mate. This will be an inopportune time to get her pregnant considering that the 4th Great Ninja War is possibly around the corner. We don't know if that part of history has been altered yet"** Kurama said.

Naruto eyes widened and he waved his arms frantically in front of him, alerting the rest the of the people that were walking with him.

"Talking to the Kyuubi again?" Jiraiya asked with an raised eyebrow.

"He's just being a pervert. Nothing serious" Naruto said trying to keep his composure now that everyone's attention was on him.

"I wasn't aware that the Tailed Beasts were capable of such things. That's interesting information" Orochimaru said thoughtfully.

Naruto looked around to see that they were already in front of the Hokage Tower. Orochimaru was using a transformation jutsu to shield his appearance and fool the leaf villagers roaming the streets, but Naruto knew that it wouldn't be enough to fool the Jonin guarding the door.

"What are we going to do about them?" Naruto asked preparing himself to knock them out, but it wasn't needed.

"I'll handle them loser, no need in drawing any unnecessary attention to ourselves, which I'm sure you'd manage to do if you knocked them out" Sasuke said.

With a quick flash of his Sharingan, Sasuke trapped the Jonin in a Genjutsu that made them think that Orochimaru was just an ordinary Jonin.

When their eyes widened in shock, everyone had thought that they had broken out of Sasuke's Genjutsu, but they were simply surprised to see Jiraiya alive and well.

"Jiraiya-sama! You're back! We've received word from The 5th Hokage that you had passed away in battle with the Akatsuki leader. How did you survive?" The Jonin asked excitedly.

"Pretty easily. It's takes more than the leader of a gang of thugs to end the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya" Jiraiya said smiling brightly and gave them a thumbs up before posing. Orochimaru and Sasuke rolled their eyes at the man's actions as they walked past the guards and into the Tower.

Hinata laughed softly as she followed Sasuke and Orochimaru into the Tower. Naruto stayed behind to support his sensei.

"Yeah no one can defeat Pervy Sage and his legendary disciple, the next Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki! BELIEVE IT" Naruto said matching his Godfather's pose.

"Look at the master and student...They're both such losers" Orochimaru said as he looked back to see them still posing.

"For once, I can agree with you" Sasuke said not bothering to look back at the idiocy behind him.

XxXxXx

In Amekagure, the Akatsuki were assembled in their conference room waiting on Zetsu to come with the man that he wanted them to meet.

"Why the Fuck are we waiting for that weak piece of shit to bring us some other bitch" Hidan complained itching for some action. Ever since they destroyed Kumogakure, he'd been wanting some action, but Pein insisted that they wait for Zetsu.

"How many times does someone have to explain the same thing to you Hidan?" Kakazu asked glaring at his teammate.

"I don't care about none of that shit Kakazu. I just want to fight" Hidan said cleaning wax out of his ears.

"If you keep annoying me then I'll rip out your heart and feed it to my sharks" Kismae warned with a sharp toothed smirk.

Hidan's eyes gleamed in excitement as he picked up his scythe and pointed it at Kisame.

"Is that a challenge fish face? I've always wanted to kick your ass" Hidan said standing.

Kisame stood as well clutching the handle of Samehada. He had almost lost the sword while fighting with the Eight Tail Jinchuuriki, but luckily for him, Samehada still viewed him as worthy after the Jinchuuriki's death.

"What if it is? Do you really think that you'd be strong enough to fight against me?" Kismae taunted.

"Enough. You two are acting like children. Sit back down and stay quiet" Konan said.

Hidan and Kisame both looked at Konan for moment before sitting back down. Neither of them were really scared of Konan, but they knew that Pein would back up her words, and that was a problem that they didn't want even though there were only 5 Paths left.

After a few minutes of silence Zetsu emerged from the ground. Noticing him, the Deva Path spoke up.

"We have retrieved the DNA samples from the shinobi we slaughtered in Kumogakure and from other parts of the Shinobi World like you asked us too. Can you explain what we did this for?" He asked.

"I would explain, but I think it'd be better if he did instead" Zetsu said.

Before anyone could ask who the 'he' was, the door opened revealing a man that resembled a snake with long white hair. Kisame's eyes widened at the familiar face and Pein was instantly on guard as he recognized the face as well.

"That's the boy Kabuto. He was the spy for Sasori, but fought alongside Orochimaru when I destroyed the Sound Village. I don't trust him, and how are you alive?" Pein asked standing in preparation for a fight.

"Relax, we've fought before and I have no intention of fighting again. I am aware of the gap in strength. Anyway your attack on Otogakure critically injured Orochimaru-sama and I assume that he's dead now. Now I'm left to fulfill his goals and it so happens that our goals align at the moment so I'll be happy to help" Kabuto said.

Everyone looked between Kabuto and their leader for a moment, before Pein sat back down.

"Very well. Explain why you needed the DNA samples of powerful deceased shinobi. How does that help our goals?" Pein asked.

"The DNA samples are to revive the souls using my Edo Tensei technique, and you're planning on collecting the remaining Jinchuuriki correct? According to my sources, you still need 2 more Jinchuuriki, and after you demolished the Cloud Village, it's very likely that the other Villages will band together to prevent it" Kabuto explained.

Zetsu nodded in agreement as he watched the expressions of every Akatsuki member. He had faith that they would agree with Kabuto, but he was concerned about Kisame. He still remembered how the man went to the Sound Village with Itachi a little over a year ago, and now that the Uchiha were back in Konoha, he didn't think that he could be trusted.

"You make a fair point boy, but how do you suppose we handle the Kage Summit? It's far too dangerous for any of us to invade considering we're all wanted and 5 Kage Level shinobi will be in one place" Kakazu said.

"Speak for yourself Kakazu. I'd whoop all of their asses" Hidan said

Nobody acknowledged him and continued on with the conversation.

"I already have somebody perfect in mind to invade the Kage Summit and declare war. After I get the DNA samples from you then I'll get to work on reviving him. He'll ready by the meeting time next week" Kabuto said.

Everyone nodded seemingly agreeing with this. Kabuto saw this as his opportunity to honor his end of the deal with Zetsu.

"By the way Pein, I want to get to meet you. The **real** you" Kabuto said making the other Akatsuki members turn towards their leader. Konan and the Deva Path both raised their eyebrows in shock for a moment, but their expressions were stoic again by the time the others looked at them.

"I don't trust your motives, but very well. Everyone leave us" Pein ordered.

Hidan, Kakazu and Kisame all got up and left with no hesitation, but Zetsu and Konan stayed in the room, both already knowing Pein's true face.

When Pein was sure that the three Akatsuki members had left, he led Kabuto to a back room where his actual body was. Kabuto was watched fiercely by Konan and the other 4 Paths of Pein as if daring him to try something.

"You don't have to watch me like that. I told you that I'm aware of the difference in power, so I won't try to stab him in the back or anything" Kabuto said smirking at Konan.

"Be that as it may, I personally don't believe you and will continue to be cautious of you. I was taught never to trust a snake" Konan replied with a blank expression.

Soon they entered the room and Kabuto came face to face with a scrawny red haired man who's body was pierced by several rods that were sticking out of his back. Kabuto would've thought that the man was weak and defenseless if he didn't feel the overwhelming amount of chakra radiating from him. The man look at Kabuto revealing his vibrant purple Rinnegan.

"I am Nagato Uzumaki, otherwise known as Pein. Tell me your purpose for wanting to meet me" Nagato said getting right to the point.

"I'm under the impression that your goal is to forcefully create peace for the shinobi world. What would you do if I told you that I know a man powerful enough to do that by himself?" Kabuto said.

Nagato and Konan's eyes both widened. They had to admit that that would make their goals a lot easier if someone had that amount of power.

"Who is this person that you're speaking of? There's no way that that kind of power exists in this world. If it did then surely they would've done something by now" Nagato said not really believing him.

"You're right. The man that I'm speaking off is currently dead, but his prime he was capable of defeating all of the Tailed Beasts and he was capable of going 1 on 1 with the 1st Hokage Hashirama Senju. The man whose been dubbed the 'God of Shinobi'" Kabuto said smirking at the look of interest that Nagato had on his face.

"This man truly sounds impressive. Who is he?" Nagato asked.

"I'm sure that you're familiar with the name... Madara Uchiha" Kabuto said and room went silent.

XxXxXx

Tsunade was shocked to say the least.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata had all barged into her office claiming that they had a surprise for her.

It was random and she wasn't expecting anything extravagant, but judging by the bright smiles that Hinata and Naruto had, and the smug smirk on Sasuke's face; she was sure that she was in for quite the treat.

It was just her in the office as Shizune had nurse duties to attend too, so Tsunade was all alone to deal with whatever the teenagers had planned for her. They had built up the suspense and now she was really curious to see what they had for her.

"Are you ready for your surprise Granny Tsuande?" Naruto asked.

' _ **As ready as I'll ever be brat'**_ Tsunade thought to herself, but she nodded to let Naruto know that she was ready. She hadn't been more wrong in her life.

Suddenly a big puff of smoke erupted in the middle of her office. Tsunade was prepared for something like that, because Naruto was involved and Naruto was always over the top with his antics, but nothing could've prepared her for the two forms that were visible once the smoke cleared.

Standing there in the middle of the room were two people that she thought were dead. The two people that she had spent most of her life with, and the two people that Tsunade expected to see the least.

The smoke cleared to reveal the smiling face of Jiraiya whose body had been bruised and bandaged, but what was even more surprising was that his arm was on the shoulder of a smirking Orochimaru.

So many emotions flowed through Tsunade's body and one time and the unthinkable happened. The 5th Hokage had fainted.

About a minute later, she was awoken by voices surrounding her.

"I told you we shouldn't have went for the flashy entrance. We're both supposed to be dead so how did you think she'd react?"

"I don't know! But I didn't expect her to faint. I didn't even know she could do that!"

"That plan was idiotic. I can't believe I went along with it"

"Shut up Bastard. That plan was awesome and you know it. Granny just wasn't ready for it, you know she's getting old"

"Stop arguing you guys, she's waking up"

Tsunade twitched and got up quickly no longer caring that Jiraiya and Orochimaru being around.

"Which one of you said something about my age?" Tsunade asked with a deadly low voice.

All hands pointed to Naruto. Even Sasuke and Orochimaru wanted nothing to do with the Blonde's rage so they were quick to point fingers. Naruto looked around and noticed that everyone had ratted him out.

He blinked and instantly activated his chakra mode just in time as Tsunade's fist connected with his face. Naruto smirked satisfied when he felt nothing but an itch from her punch.

" **Brat don't use my chakra to protect yourself from hits that you deserve to take"** Kurama complained.

Tsunade was not satisfied with Naruto's smug expression. She figured out that her hit didn't hurt him so she charged Chakra into her fist and punch Naruto dead in the stomach right over his seal.

Even Kurama felt the impact of that punch and Naruto was knocked out of his Chakra mode as he was sent flying into the wall to recover from the hit.

Satisfied, Tsunade then turned to her former teammates with a smile on her face and tears in the corner of her eyes, but then she remembered that Orochimaru was a rouge nin and responsible for killing their sensei, so Tsunade quickly concealed her emotions to address him.

"You have some nerve coming here after all the crimes you've committed Orochimaru. Not only are you a rogue nin, but you have many crimes that are punishable by death" Tsunade said glaring at him.

"You mean just like Itachi-kun?" Orochimaru asked sarcastically.

"Keep my brother out of this" Sasuke warned with his Sharingan activating.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, but didn't mention anything about Itachi anymore.

"Anyway we're all shinobi Tsunade, so in the grand scheme of things my crimes are pretty excusable don't you think?" Orochimaru said.

"You. Killed. Our. Sensei." Tsunade said through gritted teeth.

"Now, now Tsunade let's not get too hasty here. I'm sure we've all thought about killing our sensei before" Jiraiya said jokingly.

"I tried to kill Kakashi before if that means anything" Sasuke said recalling the fight with his sensei in his past life.

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy before Hinata and Naruto wisely decided to cover his mouth to prevent the Uchiha from commenting on the situation anymore.

Orochimaru turned back to Tsuande with a grin on his face.

"See? It happens to the best of us and lets be honest, the Village was falling apart with him in power anyway. Danzo was going behind people's backs with his schemes and Sensei just turned a blind eye because that was his friend. I have no regrets about my actions" Orochimaru said.

Tsunade didn't say anything instead she just slapped him, nearly making the man's neck snap.

"Don't talk to me as if we're still friends, like you didn't spend the last few years trying to destroy our village. Why should I trust you again after all this time?" Tsunade asked.

"Because he's returned to being the same Orochimaru that he was before he left" Jiraiya said.

At Tsunade's skeptical look, Jiraiya continued.

"He saved my life when we were in Amekagure and healed me to the best of his abilities. Orochimaru wouldn't do that unless he still cared about me and I also have reason to believe that he cares about the Village as well" Jiraiya said.

"What makes you think that?" Orochimaru and Tsunade said at the same time before Tsunade glared at him. Orochimaru just ignored the glare as he waited for his former teammate's reasoning for how he suddenly cared about the leaf.

"Because Sasuke wants to protect the leaf, and Orochimaru is always going to align himself with Sasuke" Jiraiya said with a smirk.

Orochimaru shrugged knowing that the man was right.

"I want to protect the leaf? You're making a lot of assumptions here. I don't give a damn about this Village, in fact if it wasn't for my friends I'd- MMMM" Sasuke said before Hinata and Naruto covered his mouth once again. This time they agreed that they wouldn't let go until the conversation was over.

Luckily for them, Tsunade decided to ignore them because she was thinking about whether or not she could trust Orochimaru.

"So as long as the Uchiha stays loyal then you'll stay loyal, but if he leaves then you leave?" Tsunade asked for clarification.

"Yeah that's pretty much the simplified version of it" Orochimaru said.

Tsunade nodded before allowing herself to smile at Orochimaru like she used to.

"Good. Then welcome back, but I still don't completely trust you yet. You and Jiraiya are going to accompany me to the Kage Summit as my guards, so that I can keep an eye on you. Now Jiraiya... why are you still hurt? Hinata is a capable of using medical ninjutsu so why didn't she heal you already?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya looked around nervously trying to think of an appropriate answer, but unluckily for him, Hinata spoke before he could.

"I offered to heal him last night, but he insisted on waiting for you to heal him. He said something about how much you liked touching his body while you were healing him"

Naruto covered Hinata's mouth but by that point it was far too late because the damage had already been done.

Tsunade had fire in her eyes as she punched both of her teammates hard in the face. Jiraiya for a being a Pervy jokester, and Orochimaru for being a traitorous bastard. Then grabbed both of their hands to heal them with a content smile on her face.

Seeing this, Naruto and Hinata decided that it was finally safe to remove their hands from Sasuke's mouth.

"Don't ever do that again" Sasuke said as he glared at both of them with his Sharingan activated.

Naruto looked like he was about to argue with him, but Hinata beat him to it.

"What exactly would you do if I did" Hinata said with sass that Naruto didn't know she possessed.

' _ **The Bastard really rubbed off on her'**_ he thought as he smirked at Sasuke waiting for his reply.

"I'll trap you in a Tsukuyomi for an hour" Sasuke warned, his Sharingan glowing threateningly.

"Hm is that so? Keep talking like that and we'll never pick up where we left off before Naruto interrupted. It'll be all up to Itachi and Obito to rebuild the Uchiha and do you really want that?" Hinata asked raising an eyebrow.

When she saw Sasuke flinch, she smirked internally. She knew that she won.

"Fine you win Hime" Sasuke consented deactivating his Sharingan and looking away.

Naruto gave Hinata a fist bump behind Sasuke's back as the two laughed together at Sasuke's annoyance.

XxXxXx

"Madara Uchiha has informed me of the Jutsu he wanted me to use to revive him when he died, but I didn't it to be so soon. I guess that explains why he stirred the Pein's away from Konoha; he didn't want me to witness him die" Nagato said thinking over what Kabuto.

"I can revive his physical body, but I'll need you to revive his soul with your Rinnegan. Can you do that?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes I can, but the toll that it'll take on body will likely kill me" Nagato said as if he was thinking over that. Konan tensed but didn't say anything as she looked at Nagato.

"Well I guess everything depends on how far you're willing to go to complete your goal. I can tell you with 100% certainty that he is capable of single handedly restoring peace to the Shinobi World, but it is your decision of course" Kabuto said.

Nagato thought over Kabuto's words for only a second before nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm willing to sacrifice anything for my goal. That's the principal that Yahiko lived and died by, so I will do the same. If this man is truly the savior that you said he is then I have no problem giving my life for his" Nagato said his voice full of conviction.

Kabuto smirked inwardly knowing that his deal with Zetsu was now complete so he is free to do as he pleases from here on out with his Edo Tensei soldiers.

"You're selfless Nagato-kun. you're sacrifice will not be in vain. I'll bring his corpse here immediately after one of my soldiers invades the Kage Summit" Kabuto said.

Nagato nodded and Kabuto left out the room with a smug smirk on his face. A similar smirk was on the Black side of Zetsu's face as he faded into the ground.

' _ **Things are beginning to fall into to place. It wont be long now... Mother'**_

 **TBC**

 **Demarco Rhode- Eventually. He's already shown that he can activate his Kyuubi Chakra mode, but he hasn't fought seriously yet so he doesn't know his full capabilities**

 **MorpheustheDream- I hope this chapter answered your question about Pein's involvement or lack off**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Kabuto has all the powers that he had in canon before he absorbed more chakra from Anko's curse seal, he's just a little bit stronger because he spent 2 years training with Hinata. As for why Naruto didn't sense him... he was too focused on his anger and sadness towards Sasuke. He couldn't sense Orochimaru or Jiraiya either**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Thank you Shinobi!**

 **Splaaash-attack- Yep and now that Sasuke's secret is out of the way, the war arc is being set into motion**

 **Serus black antihumannature- Thank you and I hope this chapter answered your question**

 **Jiang-sama- Thank you, I'm glad that I was able to write it well. I hope that you enjoy this one too.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Obito is in no hurry to reveal his involvement in the attack on Konoha, but when Naruto finds out... Lets just say things will get explosive**

 **Bella-Swan11- Orochimaru has been overwhelmed with recent events so he did forget, but he'll be reminded soon. And you were right. Kumogakure has been destroyed instead**

 **The Jingo - The King in White-... I never expected you to even see my story nevermind read and review it. Thank so much for your feedback!**

 **This was a kind of light hearted chapter before the War arc starts. Now that I'm on spring break from college, I have more time to write for ya'll. Thank you for everyone who constantly reviews and supports the story. Also thank you to those who give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism that helps me work on my skills as in writer. Please Read and Review - Dishon 3**


	30. Kage Summit

**Chapter 30**

A few minutes later Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata entered the hospital to find Gaara.

After Tsunade reconnected with her former teammates, she ordered Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata to go find Gaara so that they could leave to go to the Kage Summit.

They were surprised that Gaara's chakra led them into Sai's hospital room and they were even more surprised when they opened the door revealing a smirking Gaara talking to Sai who also had a creepy smile on his face. Ino was there as well and it was obvious that she was happy.

"Hey guys! Did you come to visit Sai too?" Ino asked waving at them.

"I actually had no idea that he was even in the hospital. I thought that Sakura healed him right after the fight with Danzo ended. Sorry Sai, If I had known I definitely would've visited you" Naruto said apologetically towards Sai. He was technically his teammate, and he deserved to know that he held no hard feelings towards him.

"Ugly did heal me, but my wounds were more severe than she thought, so I was forced to come to the hospital to recover. I should be out relatively soon, besides Ino and Sandman have already told me that you guys aren't upset with me. There's no reason to apologize Dickless" Sai responded with his smile.

Sasuke and Gaara both laughed at the nickname that Sai had for Naruto. Sasuke had decided at that moment that maybe he should give Sai a chance and treat him as a comrade instead of as a replacement. The first step towards that would be to apologize since he is kind of responsible for putting him in the hospital in the first place.

"So Sai it's good to see that your wounds didn't kill you" Sasuke said trying to gauge how Sai would react to him.

"I was very fortunate. I wasn't expecting lightning chakra to coat your sword and that mistake cost me dearly. I apologize for my interference and I hope that you don't believe that I was purposely against you. I also had a reason to hate Danzo-sama and want him dead, but the order to protect him at all times was engraved in me. I moved before I could stop myself. If I never jumped in the way, then I would've never gotten critically wounded" Sai said.

Sasuke wasn't expecting the man to apologize to him, but he definitely wasn't going to complain about it. Sasuke wasn't good at apologizing anyway, and Sai had a good point. If he didn't try to protect Danzo then he'd be fine right now. Sasuke nodded in satisfaction.

"Apology accepted Sai, and don't worry, Danzo was still killed regardless of your interference. I'm glad that you understand the mistake you made, and I hope that you don't make the same mistake twice. Next time I doubt you'd survive one of my attacks" Sasuke said.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say, because he soon felt the glares of everyone in the room. Sasuke blinked and looked at them in confusion, before Naruto smacked him in the back of the head.

He tried to turn around and hit him back, but Gaara's sand kept his feet firmly in place. Sasuke glared at his friend, but the Kazekage just glared back obviously not intimidated. Before he could question the actions of his two friends. Hinata grabbed his shoulder.

"Now its your turn to apologize to Sai as well. You are responsible for his injuries" Hinata whispered.

"But he already apologized. There's no sense in both of us apologizing" Sasuke whispered back not thrilled with the idea.

"Just do it Sasuke. You're supposed to apologize every time you accidentally hurt a comrade. Let him know that you wouldn't do it again" Hinata said.

Sasuke was tempted to say that he would do it again if it was necessary, but the look Hinata gave him dissuaded him from vocalizing his thoughts. The fire burning in her lavender eyes let Sasuke know that he had to choose his next words carefully.

"Well I guess apologizing would be a good way to clear the air between us" Sasuke whispered back quietly.

Hinata let out a smile and Sasuke chose to ignore the smug look of satisfaction in her eyes.

' _ **She's been spending way too much time with me. Its like looking in a mirror sometimes'**_ Sasuke thought as he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Sai I am also sorry about putting you in here. You were not my intended target and I will never purposefully harm you again. I would appreciate if you accept my apology as well" Sasuke said with his head held high trying to salvage his pride.

Everyone in the room was satisfied with the apology and turned towards Sai to see how the man would respond.

"Your apology is definitely accepted. I'm most grateful, you don't seem like the type of person that just hands out apologies... duck butt" Sai said with his creepy smile. Everyone in the room had to stifle their laughs to avoid getting glared at by Sasuke.

Sasuke was furious, but he kept his cool because he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to actually attack Sai; besides 'Dickless' is way worse than 'Duck Butt' in his opinion. Sasuke nodded at Sai and quickly turned his attention towards Gaara to ease his discomfort.

"So how did you end up here in the hospital Gaara. I would think that you and Ino would be spending your last day here in more creative ways" Sasuke said raising an eyebrow.

Gaara rolled his eyes knowing that Sasuke was trying to deflect his embarrassment towards him.

"It wasn't my first choice either, but Ino was right about Sai needing a friend" Gaara said.

"Care fill us in on the story?" Naruto asked never wanting to miss an opportunity to tease Gaara.

"Of course Naruto" Gaara said as he thought back to when he and Ino were walking through the Village.

XxXxXx

 **Begin Flashback**

Gaara was currently wishing that he was back in Suna.

Ino had dragged him to every conceivable store that she could think of and he was getting tired of the constant whispering of the word 'whipped' from the Konoha males and the giggles from the Konoha women.

He was the Kazekage, and he didn't enjoy being treated as if he was a regular teenager that was whipped by his girlfriend. He had half the mind to Sand Coffin some of them, but that might've been seen as an declaration of war since he was from a foreign village.

The Sand had already been involved in one attack on Konoha, and Gaara didn't want to be responsible for another conflict between the two Villages. Especially since his best friends lived in Konoha.

He just had to endure the torture of listening to their nonsense as Ino escorted him everywhere.

When it finally seemed like she ran out of places to take him, Ino turned to him and grabbed his hand while giving him a soft smile.

' _ **Uh oh'**_ Gaara thought to himself. He knew Ino long enough to know that she only did this when she was about to ask him to do something that she knew he wouldn't want to do. She did the same things hours prior when she asked him to go shopping with her.

"What is it that you want now Ino?" Gaara asked sighing knowing that it was nearly impossible for him to refuse the woman of anything.

"Can we go visit Sai in the hospital?" Ino asked.

"No" Gaara said instantly. He stood corrected; it was pretty easy for him to deny this request from Ino and the best part was he didn't even feel bad about it.

"Please Gaara? He's probably all alone in that room right now, and because of the fact that Sasuke's in the Village, I don't know if Naruto or Sakura have been to visit him. He's probably been alone the last couple of days and he's already emotionally stunted, so he probably thinks that no one cares about him. I just feel like we should let him know that he has friends" Ino said pleading with Gaara.

Gaara inwardly rolled his eyes. He never remembered saying anything about he and Sai being friends, and he didn't necessarily like the fact that Ino thought that it was her job to help the man's emotional development.

"It's his own fault that he's in there. He tried to protect Danzo from Sasuke's attack and got hurt. He was obviously fighting for the corrupt part of Konoha, so I don't know why you want to visit him after realizing that" Gaara said logically trying to convince Ino out of the visit, but the Blonde was persistent.

"There's a reason for that. Sai told me that he grew up being manipulated by Danzo in Root so it's not his fault that loyalty towards Danzo was imbedded in his mind" Ino said.

When Gaara didn't say anything, Ino frowned and started to get angry.

"What's your problem with him anyway? He hasn't done anything to you" Ino said nearly yelling.

Gaara looked away from the emotional blonde, but he was starting to get annoyed with her concern over the guy.

"Why do you care so much about him? This is my last day here and you're trying to get me to visit someone that I barely know, and the first time I met him, he was giving you professionally drawn roses, and accusing me of being jealous. On top of that he was on Danzo's side. I don't care about the reason why, he was against my friends so no I don't want to visit him" Gaara snapped as he dropped Ino's bags and his Sand whirled around him violently.

Ino was scared by the outburst at first, but then she gave Gaara a look of understanding. She pressed her body against his, making Gaara instinctively get rid of his sand so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it seem like I cared about him more than you or anything. I just wanted Sai to know that we aren't blaming him for protecting Danzo during the big fight. I'm sure that he thinks that we all hate him for it and he's probably beating himself up about it. He was already on everyone's bad side because of the whole nickname thing so I wanted him to know that he still had a friend. I wanted you to come because I was hoping that you could be to him what Sasuke is to you" Ino said.

She knew that she was the only female besides Hinata and his sister that Gaara had ever spoken to, and she knew she was the only one Gaara has ever felt romantic feelings for. She could tell that she struck against Gaara's insecurities with her friendship with Sai, so she just wanted to clear everything up for him.

Gaara didn't have eyebrows, but if he did one would be raised because of what Ino had just said.

"You want me to be his closest friend and the one that saves him from his loneliness? Ino have you seen me? I'm still very antisocial on a good day, so why do you think that I'd be able to help someone who's emotions have been sealed away? Why not ask Sasuke?" the Young Kazekage asked.

"Because you know what its like to be lonely. If anyone can help him, its you. Besides I doubt Sasuke will be up to talking to him, since he's the one that gave him the wound to begin with" Ino said.

Gaara had to admit that Ino had a point. He did have extensive experience with being emotionally stunted. In fact, he's still learning how to show more emotion and its been two years since he befriended Sasuke and the others, and met Ino.

Even though he was Kazekage, he still didn't talk unless he was required to and he often let Temari and Kankuro do all the talking for him.

"Fine I guess I can try, but only because you're asking" Gaara said sighing.

"Thank you Gaara" Ino said smiling brightly and giving him a giant hug. Gaara's used his sand to pick the bags back up as Ino took his hand and led him towards the hospital.

" **You're whipped to the max"** Shukaku said laughing in Gaara's head.

"Shut up Shukaku" Gaara responded before disconnecting the link.

' _ **Ugh I really can't say no to Ino'**_ Gaara thought

 **End Flashback**

XxXxXx

"So you're whipped?" Sasuke and Naruto asked simultaneously with twin smirks on their faces.

"Lets not act like I'm the only person whipped in this hospital room" Gaara said with a smirk growing on his face as the smirks left Naruto and Sasuke's. Ino and Hinata laughed at that and even Sai let out a chuckle.

"Anyway, Naruto made it pretty clear that you didn't know that Sai was here, so what are you guys doing here?" Gaara asked.

"Granny Tsunade sent us to tell you that we're about to leave to go to the Kage Summit, and since you are here by yourself, Sasuke and I are supposed to offer to be your bodyguards for the trip, but you don't have a choice. We are definitely going to accompany you regardless of what you say" Naruto said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's choice of wording, but he didn't disagree. Sasuke knew what happened at the Kage Summit in his past life, so he was already cautious. He didn't know what to expect, but he definitely wanted to make sure that his friend was protected just in case something happened.

Gaara looked back and forth between the faces of his two friends before letting out a small smile.

"Well if that's the case then I guess that you two will be accompanying me then. When are we supposed to be leaving?" Gaara asked.

Sasuke looked at the clock in the room before answering.

"Tsunade told us to meet her at the gates 10 minutes from now, so you should probably begin your goodbyes" Sasuke said.

"Noted. What about you guys? I'm sure that Hinata and Haku aren't coming along either" Gaara said.

"I sent a clone to tell Haku where I'm going and she's going to meet us at the gate too, and you can already see that Hinata is going to accompany us to the gate since she's here now" Naruto replied motioning over to Hinata who was standing next to Sasuke.

Gaara nodded and turned to Ino who had a sad smile on her face. Gaara didn't like the look but he could understand it. He didn't want to leave her either.

"I don't want you to say bye, I just want you to tell me the next time you'll be here" Ino said.

Gaara froze. He knew that his duties as Kazekage took priority over his personal relationships, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"I don't know, but I promise you that it'll be sooner than it was last time. I'll find a way, but you know that you're always welcome in Suna, and you can stay there as long as you want" Gaara said embracing Ino.

"I just might take you up on that offer, on one condition" Ino said hugging Gaara tighter.

"What is that?" Gaara asked.

"You have to pay for my sunscreen. My skin was not made for the desert sun" Ino said releasing Gaara with a smile on his face.

"I'll be sure to get you the best sunscreen that Suna has to offer" Gaara said with the amusement obvious in his voice.

"Deal" Ino said smiling happily

XxXxXx

Orochimaru was not pleased. He had been getting stared at by the Villagers since he left the Hokage Tower with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Some of them gave him looks of fear and confusion, but most of them had an hostile aura around them as if they were ready to attack him at any second. He actually had to dodge 'stray' kunai and shuriken on more than one occasion as they were walking.

Normally he would be amused by these reactions, but the whispers were starting to annoy him. Seeing the rapidly growing vein in Orochimaru's forehead, Jiraiya decided that he should say something before his friend lost his temper and killed someone.

"Relax Orochimaru, you can't really expect them to welcome you back with open arms. You did do some pretty messed up things after you left the Village" Jiraiya said.

Orochimaru was well aware of that, but he didn't think it gave the Villagers the excuse to throw weapons at him, or look at him crazy and talk about him as if he wasn't a person at all.

"I am still the Sannin Orochimaru that helped save them during the 2nd and 3rd Great Ninja Wars. Its okay for them to fear me and even despise me, but I would expect at least some kind of respect" Orochimaru grumbled before glaring at a Jonin that 'accidentally' threw kunai at him.

"Shut up and take what you're getting. At least your not Hokage, they're looking at me too because I'm allowing you to walk freely. I won't be surprised if they are questioning my judgement and wondering how sane I am at the moment" Tsuande said.

"She's right Orochimaru. Tsunade has much more to lose here than you do, so you better just endure the hostile stares and stray projectiles until they get used to you" Jiraiya said.

"Get used to me? You make it seem like I'm not going to destroy this Village after all of this stuff with the Akatsuki is finished" Orochimaru started as a tomato hit him.

"They certainly aren't helping their case. It seems to me that they're tired of their lives if they're throwing things at me" Orochimaru finished.

Jiraiya and Tsunade both rolled their eyes at the man, not believing a word that he was saying. When they got to the gates, the Anbu greeted Jiraiya and Tsunade, before they noticed that Orochimaru was with them.

Before Orochimaru could blink he was surrounded by four Anbu who each held a kunai to his throat.

"Orochimaru of the Sannin, you are arrested for your crimes against the Village. We wont let you escape this time you weird snake" The Anbu with the dog mask said with a Voice that held authority., obviously he was the captain.

Orochimaru looked over to his former teammates with a raised eyebrow. Jiraiya looked like he was on the verge of laughing from the 'weird snake' comment and Tsunade didn't look like she was in any hurry to help him.

"So I'm allowed to kill these Anbu since they attacked me first?" Orochimaru asked with a sadistic smirk instantly gaining the attention of Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Stand down Captain. Orochimaru is already my prisoner and he is to never leave my sight. That means that he is going with me to the Kage Summit, so release him" Tsunade ordered.

The Anbu looked as though he was ready to argue, but he was never one to go against a direct order from the Hokage, so he stood down reluctantly. Once he removed his Kunai from Orochimaru's throat, the rest of the Anbu did the same.

"That was smart. It would've been a shame if I would've had to kill you" Orochimaru said causing all of the Anbu to frown underneath their masks.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, I hope that you will be careful during this journey and keep a watchful eye out for Orochimaru" The captain said.

"There's no need to worry about Orochimaru. If he acts out then I'll put him down myself" Jiraiya said giving the Anbu a thumbs up. The Anbu nodded and dispersed.

Soon after, Haku showed up at the gates with a clone of Naruto. Tsunade noticed and approached the two.

"Were you able to find the Kazekage?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah he was in the hospital with Ino checking on Sai" the clone responded.

"Well where are you guys at. I'm ready to leave now" Tsunade said.

"Relax Granny, we'll be there soon enough. You shouldn't worry too much because stress is not good for old people" the clone said.

Tsunade twitched, and everyone wisely took a few steps away from her except for the oblivious Naruto clone. The last thing the clone ever saw was Tsunade's fist flying towards him.

Naruto blinked in surprise when he felt that his clone was destroyed. He absorbed the information from the clone and saw that Tsunade was the reason why.

A few minutes later, Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Hinata all arrived at the gates. Tsunade was still twitching with anger, so Naruto wisely decided to hide behind Haku.

"What took you kids so long to get here?" Tsunade asked.

Every teenager flinched at the word 'kids', but chose to let it slide because of the fact that Tsuande was already mad.

"It is my fault Lady Hokage. I was saying my goodbyes" Gaara said.

Tsunade looked at Gaara and nodded before glaring at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Its fine Kazekage, now it's time to get going. Sasuke and Naruto say your goodbyes to Haku and Hinata so that we can get going" Tsunade ordered turning away.

The goodbyes were quick and simple because the teens could feel how irritated Tsunade still was. Soon after this the six shinobi left the Village to head to the Kage Summit.

XxXxXx

A few days later they were all assembled at a table in a large meeting room.

All the eyes were on Orochimaru because the fact that he was an S-Class rouge shinobi. He was in everyone's bingo book, so they were more than a little uneasy about his presence in the meeting.

It didn't take long for the Raikage to voice his discomfort.

"What is the meaning of this Hokage? Why is this rat here when he should be dead or in chains somewhere?" The Raikage asked.

' _ **Rat? That's a new one'**_ Orochimaru thought in amusement.

"He's here as my bodyguard and my prisoner. Do you have a problem with that?" Tsunade countered with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I have a problem with it. He has been associated with the same organization that is responsible for the destruction of my Village and the death of two of our Jinchuuriki, not to mention other countless good Shinobi" The Raikage said standing up and slamming his fists on the table as his chakra began to rise.

This caused Orochimaru and Jiraiya to raise their chakra as well, practically daring the Raikage to attack. The other Kages also made their presence felt. If the Raikage was to attack the Hokage or any of her bodyguards then he would basically be starting a war. Everyone was already prepared to take sides.

"Calm down Raikage. While I agree that its strange that Orochimaru is here; I don't think that you want to start a war. Especially since you don't really have the man power to fight in it" the Tsuchikage said.

The Raikage glared him for a second before he breathed and controlled his anger. As soon as his aura returned to normal, the rest of the room mellowed out as well.

"My apologies. Lets start over, I am A the 4th Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village" the Raikage said.

"I'm Onoki, the 3rd Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village" the Tsuchikage said.

"I am Mei Terumi, the 5th Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village" The Mizukage said flashing a smile in Sasuke's direction that he pretended not to notice.

"I am Tsunade Senju, 5th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village" Tsunade said.

"I am Gaara of the Sand, the 5th Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village" Gaara said.

Gaara twitched when he noticed the disapproving look that the Raikage was giving him, Sasuke and Naruto. His sand swirled around him irritably.

"Is there something you want to say A?" Gaara asked nearly glaring at the man.

"Its just that you and your bodyguards are so young. How is the Hidden Sand Village still prospering under the watch of children" A said.

Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke all glared at the Raikage at the label of 'children'. Gaara spoke up since he was the only one allowed to speak during this meeting.

"My guards and I are all 16 which is hardly a child in the world we live in. Also regardless of our young age, you'll see that we're more than capable shinobi" Gaara said giving a signal.

Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara all released their chakra simultaneously making everyone else in the room tense up at the power emitting from the teenagers. Especially Sasuke and Naruto. Orochimaru and Jiraiya both could barely stop themselves from giving a look of pride towards their apprentices.

A sweatdropped and the body guard to his right whistled, obviously impressed with the amount of Chakra he felt.

"I think I've made my point clear enough" Gaara said as he gave a signal and the three suppressed their chakra again.

"That was certainly an impressive display of chakra. I wouldn't want to get into a fight with either one of you fine men" Mei said with a flirtatious smirk directed towards Sasuke.

"Indeed. They would be worthy opponents to the strongest shinobi. The Kazekage and his guards are more than qualified despite their young age" Onoki agreed.

"It seems I misjudged you because of your age, forgive me for my disrespect" A said lowly, still slightly amazed by how strong they were at their age.

"All is forgiven, now I understand that the reason for this summit is too discuss the threat that the organization known as the 'Akatsuki' pose towards the Hidden Villages. As you mentioned earlier, they've already destroyed Kumogakure right?" Gaara said.

A nodded. Orochimaru took his chance to try to build the trust of the other Kage. After Tsunade granted him permission to speak, Orochimaru addressed the rest of the room.

"As the Raikage has mentioned earlier, I used to be apart of the Akatsuki, so I have extensive knowledge of all of the members and I even know most of their powers. I'd be more than happy to disclose this information with you if you're willing to listen" Orochimaru said.

"Why would I trust any of the things that come out of your mouth? Snakes are known for being mischievous animals, so why would you be any different" A said frowning.

"In my eyes, Orochimaru is quite reliable when it comes to information. He warned me of an attack that the Akatsuki was planning on me, and gave me the strengths and weaknesses of the two members who attacked me. With his information I was able to prepare for their attack and my ally here was able to dispose of them" Gaara said nodding his head towards Sasuke.

"He defeated two members of the Akatsuki? Who?" Mei asked surprised by the news.

"Sasori of the Red Sand, and Deidara" Gaara said making the Onoki and his bodyguards all flinch.

"That boy killed Deidara" Onoki said lowly as if he was having trouble absorbing the information.

When Gaara nodded in confirmation, the woman who was on the left side of Onoki stood up with an angry expression.

"Kurotsuchi what are you doing?" Onoki asked looking at the woman

"I would like permission to fight the person who defeated Deidara-nii if you don't mind Tsuchikage-sama" Kurotsuchi said.

Sasuke looked at the woman with a bored expression, but he was ready to defend himself if she was dumb enough to attack him. Naruto was by his side also anticipating an attack. However, Onoki's next words helped ease their tensions.

"Calm down Kurotsuchi. Deidara was a rouge shinobi who was apart of the Akatsuki, and he attacked the Kazekage. The boy had every right to defend himself by any means" Onoki said placing a calming hand on his granddaughter's shoulder.

Kurotsuchi frowned at Sasuke, but sat down anyway. With that out of the way, A continued on with the conversation.

"Well if the Kazekage says that Orochimaru is trustworthy then I will at least entertain what he has to say" A said.

"Thank you Raikage" Orochimaru said as he began to list of the remaining members of the Akatsuki and their known abilities. He also told them the location of their hideout in Amekagure. When he finished, every one was looking down absorbing the information.

"So A, since your village was the one destroyed by the Akatsuki's attack, how do you want to go about defeating them?" Tsunade asked breaking the silence.

"I say we send our best shinobi to their base and destroy all of them in a full on frontal assault" A said.

The other Kage looked at each other to see if anyone had a better idea, and when no one spoke up, A spoke again.

"Then it's decided, every village gives their top 5 shinobi and we will destroy them, once and for all"

"Hold on bro, that's not the way to go, fool ya fool" a voice said that made the Kumo nin's eyes widen, and Sasuke internally rolled his eyes knowing exactly who it was.

"B" A said standing up when he saw his little brother climb through the window.

"Is this person with you?" Mei asked raising her eyebrow at the tall man.

"This is my little brother and the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki, Killer B. He and Yugito, our other Jinchuuriki, were captured when the Akatsuki destroyed the Village, and we assumed they were dead. B what happened" A asked struggling not to embrace his brother with everyone else around.

"Well actually I am dead in fact, after they removed Gyuuki from me everything went black. I thought that I wouldn't see you anymore, but I've been resurrected to tell you about a declaration of war" B said.

"Why is he rapping everything?" Onoki asked clearly annoyed.

"That's not what's important here Tsuchikage. What do you mean declaration of war?" A asked B.

"War between the 5 Shinobi Nations and Akatsuki of course, they've decided to take the One and Nine Tail Jinchuuriki by force, And if the Akatsuki's plans aren't foiled, then it will cause the destruction of the whole shinobi world, fool ya fool" B said.

Gaara and Naruto both tensed at the man's words, and they weren't the only ones who were bothered by the news.

" **They've captured all of the other beasts except for me and Kurama? I was wondering why I couldn't sense their chakra when I tried. This is bad Gaara, we can't let that happen to us too"** Shukaku said to Gaara.

" **Something similar to this happened the last time around as well, and it was a horrible experience being trapped in the Gedo Statue. We can't allow them to succeed, though I am surprised that B and Gyuuki have already been captured. That didn't happen at this point last time"** Kurama said to Naruto.

Gaara and Naruto were speaking to their own Tailed Beasts, so they didn't notice B taking a sword out and pointing it at them.

"You might want to restrain me too a seat, cause I'm being ordered to attack them as we speak" B said before quickly rushing towards Gaara and Naruto.

Sasuke unsheathed Kusanagi at a speed that impressed the Raikage and intercepted B before he could reach them. The two clashed swords.

"Interesting our swordsman skills are nearly tied, I wish we could've fought when I was alive, wheee" B said trying to get the upper hand on Sasuke.

Sasuke broke off the clash and quickly flashed his Sharingan at B. This momentarily distracted the man, but it was long enough for Sasuke to swiftly cut his head off.

"B" The Raikage yelled not being able to take seeing his brother getting decapitated in front of his face.

Everyone was surprised to see that Sasuke was still on edge. They saw the reason why because a few moments later, B got up with his head reforming on his body. At the looks of shock that he was getting, he deciding to explain the situation to them.

"You saw me get up after that and are probably wondering why, but you see because of the Jutsu used on me I am unable to die" B explained.

"Well that confirms my suspicions. Someone on the other side is using the 'Edo Tensei' technique" Orochimaru said.

B tried another sneak attack towards Gaara and Naruto, but this time the Raikage intercepted him and held B in a headlock.

"What is the 'Edo Tensei' technique?" Onoki asked.

"It was a technique that was created by the 2nd Hokage, and perfected by me. The castor of the Jutsu is able to reanimate dead shinobi with a sample of their DNA and a human sacrifice. They are brought back to life with most of the strength that they had during their lifetime and they could be ordered to do whatever the castor orders them to do" Orochimaru explained.

' _ **There's only one other person that even knows about this technique, but I don't know why he's aligned himself with the Akatsuki, especially after Pein attacked us and destroyed the Sound Village. What are you doing Kabuto'**_ Orochimaru thought to himself.

"Do you know who could be controlling B right now?" A asked with a pained expression on his face.

"No unfortunately I have no clue" Orochimaru lied. He and Sasuke made eye contact for half a second showing that they both knew the truth. Sasuke didn't know why Orochimaru didn't tell them that Kabuto was responsible for the Jutsu, but he wasn't going tell them. Sasuke knew Orochimaru had his reasons so he just decided to trust his teacher.

"Well they want to start a war with us, we have no choice but to defend ourselves" Tsunade said.

"Agreed. I propose an alliance between all of our nations" Mei said. All of the Kage agreed to this.

Suddenly a coffin rose from the ground and B was placed inside. Everyone looked the man in confusion and tensed up just in case they needed to defend themselves.

"Well looks like the Jutsu wielder is calling me back, it was good to see you bro but next time don't hesitate to attack" B said before the casket door closed and sunk into the ground.

The Kage Summit ended soon after and everyone went back to their respective Villages to prepare for the upcoming war.

 **TBC**

 **TheDeadGirlRisen- Thank you! And Kabuto currently thinks that Orochimaru is dead and that he is carrying out his will. When he notices Orochimaru is alive, it will be very interesting to see what he does**

 **2plygal- Thank you! hope that you enjoy this chapter as well**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- yep it was Kumo instead of Konoha, and you'll see soon enough.**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you. I'm glad that I was able to make those scenes entertaining enough**

 **Mochi (Guest)- I understand what you're saying, but I think you reviewed this a little prematurely. He was only forgiven by Tsunade and Jiraiya and they are extremely biased because they grew up with him and they were all extremely close. He wasn't forgiven by everyone as you can see from this chapter. It'll be a long road ahead before he is forgiven by the Village. Remember Orochimaru states several times that he still wants to destroy the village. He isn't really 'redeemed' at this point but he's aware of the threat the Akatsuki are to him, so he's aligned with them for a purpose. Thank you for your review though, hopefully I cleared up any confusion.**

 **Jiang-sama- Thank you! I'm glad that you like the way I'm writing this story. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter too.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you! And yes Madara will be revived way sooner and it will cause a lot of problems that nobody is ready for right now.**

 **Splaaash- attack- Thank you!**

 **MorpheustheDream- Kinda, but there are some drastic changes that I hope will be enjoyable.**

 **Thank you for everyone who reads and reviews this. This chapter took a little longer than I wanted it too, but I'll make it up too you by posting another chapter this week. Please continue to Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	31. The Resurrection

**Disclaimer: There's no Hinata in this chapter. Sorry in advance to anyone that has a problem with that. I promise she'll be back next Chapter. Now On to the Story**

 **Chapter 31**

The news of war spread like wildfire among the Five Great Shinobi nations. Each and every Village were busy assembling their armies and making preparations for the war, but they were more than wary about the fact that they were working together with the other Villages.

This was something that Kabuto and the rest of the Akatsuki were looking to use to their advantage during the upcoming struggle.

Kabuto had already reincarnated hundreds of powerful shinobi and Zetsu had told him about an army of White Zetsu that they had at their disposal, but regardless of that, Kabuto still felt nervous.

He wasn't nervous because of the upcoming war, or anything like that. No, what had him nervous was the man that he just revived who was currently standing right in front of him.

Madara Uchiha was glaring back at him with two Rinnegan eyes and his arms crossed. Kabuto could tell that he had absolutely no control over him and that the man could undo the Jutsu whenever he pleased. The only reason that he hadn't is because he was curious about who Kabuto was.

Even with his modified Sage Mode, Kabuto was sure that he was no more than a bug in the presence of Madara. Not even the previous Kage that he had resurrected were even close to being on Madara's level. This man was more powerful than Kabuto could have ever imagined and that him on edge.

"So you've managed to resurrect my soul using one of Tobirama's Jutsu huh? That's mildly impressive. Now introduce yourself and explain how you acquired my DNA" Madara said looking around.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi. Zetsu gave me some of your DNA, so it was child's play to find a sacrifice and bring you back" Kabuto said cockily.

Madara simply nodded and continued to survey the area, as if trying to figure out where he was. Kabuto couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about Madara reminded him of Sasuke. He couldn't really explain it, but the resemblance in the two Uchiha's mannerisms was uncanny. Maybe he should try the straight forward approach; in his experience that was the best way to speak with Sasuke.

"Come with me, Zetsu is downstairs waiting with the man who is going to complete your resurrection" Kabuto said walking away.

He heard footsteps following his closely, and smirked to himself. Yep, this man was very similar to Sasuke.

Once they reached the room, Zetsu bowed at the sight of Madara, while Nagato and Konan simply nodded at him. Seeing this, Madara couldn't help, but smirk in satisfaction.

"Welcome back to life Madara Uchiha. I must admit, its nice to see you without the mask for once" Nagato said deciding to be civil towards the man powerful enough to change the Shinobi World's corruption.

"Its nice to see you as well Nagato. Are you ready to begin the Rinne-Rebirth?" Madara asked.

Madara was slightly confused about Nagato's words, until he remembered that he had Obito assume his identity after his death. He was also surprised when he saw how much Nagato had grown since he'd been alive. He was nothing more than a boy when he first transplanted his Rinnegan into him, and now he seemed to be a fully grown man.

' _ **Well at least I know a vague estimate of how much time has passed since my death'**_ Madara thought to himself as he faced Nagato.

"Of course. I assume that once you're back to life then you'll continue to work on our plan? We've managed to recover 7 of the Tailed Beasts and we have started a war with the 5 Great Shinobi Nations to recover the last two Jinchuuriki" Nagato said.

"Good work. Its only a matter of time before I capture the remaining Bijuu. Which ones are left?" Madara asked.

It was Konan who answered this time.

"The One Tail and the Nine Tails. The One tail Jinchuuriki is the Kazkage of Suna and the Nine Tail Jinchuuriki is a Konoha Shinobi by the name of Naruto Uzumaki"

Madara smirked at how perfect this was. The One Tail was the weakest of all the Bijuu and the Nine Tails is his summon. It should be child's play to capture them once he was revived, even if the rest of the Shinobi World tried to stop him.

"Okay then I'll have no problems capturing them and executing my plans. This flawed system created by Hahshirama will cease to exist and everyone can really experience a Perfect World, not filled with death and pointless fighting" Madara said.

Nagato and Konan both had to admit that they liked the sound of that, but Konan was still more than a little skeptical of him. Something about this man was different from the Madara that she met. He seemed much colder and the look in his eye was so intense that Konan could barely stand to look at him. All of her instincts were telling her to run.

Unfortunately, Nagato didn't share her sentiment, and eagerly formed the hand signs for the Rinne Rebirth technique. He'd gladly give his life if it meant changing the corrupt system the current world had. It was unfortunate that he had to kill his former sensei, but the end goal of a Perfect World more than justified everything he did to get to this point. Nobody else will ever struggle like he, Konan and Yahiko had. The world will finally be a better place for everyone, and that was his last thought as the last remains of his chakra left him.

Madara felt the blood rush through his body and let out a satisfied sigh as he breathed for the first time in years. He had his youthful body, and all of his magnificent chakra; the only thing missing was his Rinnegan. Madara turned his head towards Nagato's corpse.

He walked towards him to take his eyes back, but he felt someone block his way. Madara tilted his head to the side as if to ask her what she was doing, but Konan beat him to it.

"Why are you walking towards Nagato's body? He brought you back to life, so what more do you want form him?" She asked, and by the sound of her voice Madara could tell that Nagato was someone important to her.

"I'm simply going to recover my Rinnegan from him. I'm the one that gave them to him for this exact purpose; now that he's done what I needed him to do, I'm going to take them back" Madara said as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

"I don't believe you, and I won't let you violate his body like that. I will bury him and the eyes stay in his body" Konan said standing defiantly in front of Nagato's corpse.

Madara sighed, if he had eyes he would've rolled them. He hated dealing with defiance from lesser people.

"Are you sure that you want to defy me? You could still live if you get out of my way now. I won't warn you again" Madara said crossing his arms.

Hearing this, Konan's paper bombs swirled around her, but she was so focused on Madara that she didn't notice Zetsu creeping up behind her. Seeing his opening, Zetsu punched a hole through Konan's chest, critically injuring the woman.

Madara couldn't see it, but he could feel the woman's chakra rapidly declining. He let a sadistic smirk adorn his face.

"Well done Zetsu" Madara said as stepped around Konan's body and took the Rinnegan from Nagato's corpse. Once his vision returned to him, Madara took another glance at his surroundings with a satisfied grin, before looking to Kabuto, who looked a little shaken up from what he just witnessed.

"What benefits do you plan to get from this war? Choose your answer very carefully, as I can tell if you lie to me, and lies are met with death" Madara warned.

Kabuto carefully weighed his options. He wasn't anticipating the fact that Madara Uchiha would be this powerful. He didn't want to provoke the man because he knew that it would lead to an early death, but at the same time he didn't want to reveal his true goals either because he had no doubt that the man would stop him. He had to word his answer very carefully.

"Like you, I've grown tired of the current shinobi system and I seek a change" Kabuto said.

Madara narrowed his eyes for a moment as he looked at him and for a moment Kabuto felt his life flash before his eyes, but luckily for him Madara decided that he didn't care what Kabuto was planning.

"I'll believe you for now brat but know that if you betray me then I will kill you. No amount of revived weaklings from the past can stop me from doing that" Madara said. Kabuto nodded in agreement before they were all alerted by Konan coughing up blood.

"Ahh so you are still alive" Madara said turning towards the woman.

"Y-You are n-not t-the savior that N-Nagato g-gave his life for" Konan said between gasps of air. Madara simply smirked at her.

"I imagine that I'm not the benevolent being that you were expecting, but is that really that surprising? I will achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi and create the Perfect World. I don't care how many people I have to kill to do it" Madara said walking closer to Konan's body.

"I n-no longer t-think t-that your goals c-correspond with ours. S-Someone will s-stop y-you" Konan said.

"I highly doubt that, but I know one thing for certain. The one who will supposedly 'stop me' will not be you" Madara said before reaching through the hole in Konan's chest and crushing her heart with his bare hands, killing her.

He then inhaled a large amount of air, about to burn their remains before he got an better idea.

"Kabuto, take samples of their DNA and add them to the Edo Tensei army. They might turn out to be even more helpful" Madara ordered.

Kabuto didn't say a word and just did as he was told. He didn't want to anger the powerful Uchiha. Madara looked at the scene with a satisfied smirk on his face, before he let his chakra flare around him wildly, enjoying the fact that he was alive again.

"Ahh It's good to be back"

XxXxXx

Sasuke stopped walking and paled at the feeling that he was getting in his stomach. He had felt a chakra so similar to his, but still so different. It was really far away from his current location, but he could feel it as if it was right next to him.

He knew exactly who this chakra belonged too, but it was still too early for him to be revived. Despite that fact, Sasuke couldn't deny the feeling of dread that filled him. This was the chakra of the man that killed him. The man that was related to him by more than just blood ties. This was the Chakra of the one and only Madara Uchiha.

"DAMN IT" Sasuke yelled surprising the Villagers that were walking next to him, but when Sasuke glared at them, they all just continued walking as if he hadn't done a thing.

He didn't understand what he had did wrong that lead to Madara being resurrected this early. The Kage Summit just ended and the Shinobi Nations were preparing for war, but no amount of preparation or strategizing could prepare them for Madara Uchiha, who likely had the Rinnegan by now. Sasuke knew that he was coming, but he still wasn't sure about what he was going to do about the previous reincarnation of Indra.

One thing he was sure about though is that he needed Orochimaru to summon the previous four Hokage again. Their power would definitely come in handy for the upcoming war, and Orochimaru regaining the use of his hands will be important as well.

"This is just great" Sasuke muttered to himself.

Just when he thought that he was living the best life he could've possibly created; he feels Madara's chakra. He was sure that he was the only person in the Village that could feel it because of the bond they shared, and because of the fact that the other shinobi around aren't panicking right now, but Sasuke was really bothered.

Madara was literally the only person that Sasuke didn't have a set plan for when the Sage sent him back to the past. He wanted to prevent Madara from ever being brought back, but somehow Kabuto still found a way to resurrect the man.

' _ **Now I have to deal with this again. I just hope I don't die again while fighting him. At least this time Obito is on our side, and Itachi is still alive so we have more firepower to fight against him with'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he walked back to the Uchiha District to share this newfound information with his family.

When he arrived at his house he saw Obito and Naruto glaring at each other with Itachi standing from the sidelines looking as though he was ready to intervene if it was necessary.

"What's going on here" Sasuke asked gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Obito and Naruto both opened their mouths to defend themselves, but Itachi beat them too it.

"Naruto came downstairs demanding that Obito tell him everything that he's done, claiming that Kurama accused him of summoning him 16 years ago, attacking the Leaf Village, and killing his parents. Obito said that the Fox would've tried to destroy the Village regardless of whether or not he'd been controlling him, and that he didn't kill either one of Naruto's parents, the Fox did. The two have been glaring at each other for the past 5 minutes" Itachi said.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this realization, that meant that Obito was indirectly responsible for the Uchiha Clan being blamed for the Nine Tails attack that led to heavy tensions between his Clan and the rest of the Village. Also Naruto's parents died during that attack, so he was kind of responsible for that too. They were lucky that they had more important things to worry about right now; Otherwise the impulsive ninja would have probably started a fight that they couldn't afford at the moment.

"Ugh we don't have time for this right now. I just felt that Madara has been resurrected and he's alive! He's not an Edo Tensei puppet. It's actually him" Sasuke said making everyone in the room tense and look at him.

"What!? How can you tell that he's been resurrected?" Obito asked with a hint a fear in his voice.

"It's the connection that we share as reincarnations. I can't confirm it 100% but I have a very strong feeling about this" Sasuke said. Everyone nodded at that.

When Sasuke had a strong feeling about something, he was usually right. Regardless of knowing this, Naruto wanted a second opinion.

"Hey Kurama can you feel if Madara Uchiha had been revived?" Naruto asked the Bijuu internally.

" **Of course I can. He signed a summoning contract with me, so I can feel if his chakra is around"** Kurama said.

"Hey Bastard, Kurama said that he can feel whether not Madara has been revived since he signed a summoning contract with him, so we can be sure" Naruto said.

"What is he waiting for then. Tell him to see if Madara's alive" Sasuke ordered, much to the displeasure of the Nine Tails.

" **I don't like the brats tone. He's lucky that I need him to help deal with Madara or I would kill him myself"** Kurama growled.

"And if he doesn't hurry up then I could always use my Sharingan and force him. He knows that I can do it, because I've done it before. He doesn't want to disobey me right now" Sasuke said while activating his Sharingan. The underlying threat was obvious in his voice.

Kurama wisely decided not to say anything else and searched for Madara's chakra. He found it almost immediately and informed Naruto.

" **The Brat is right. Madara is back and this isn't good. Neither you nor Sasuke survived the fight against him when he was revived last time. He stabbed Sasuke with his own sword and yanked me right out of you with minimal difficulty, and that was without his eyes. You really need to come up with a way to defeat him otherwise history will repeat itself"** Kurama warned.

"You worry too much Kurama. This time around me and the Bastard are on the same page, and we have the chakra of Indra and Ashura Otsutsuki right? So together we can definitely take down one Indra incarnate. BELIEVE IT!" Naruto replied to Kurama in his mind before addressing the remaining Uchiha.

"Kurama just confirmed it, Madara Uchiha has been revived and Kurama is scared. He thinks that we need to come up with a plan or me and Sasuke will die again" Naruto said.

"Nice to know that the fox has faith in us, but he is right about us coming up with a plan. I like this new life and I don't want to lose this one too" Sasuke said.

"Maybe we could talk to Madara? He has the same plans that Obito had originally right, so he just wants the perfect world for everyone. He can't be all bad" Naruto suggests.

Everyone else in the room looked at him like he was an idiot. He could even feel Kurama glaring at him at the very thought of that working.

"You cant 'Talk no Jutsu' Madara Uchiha Loser" Sasuke said.

"The man is too goal driven, and too cunning to ever allow words from a kid to influence him or any of his decision making. I should know because I was once a kid trying to change him, but he manipulated me instead" Obito added.

"Madara was the greatest fighter to ever come out of our clan. His power rivaled that of the 1st Hokage and he is called the 'God of Shinobi'. Not only that, but he's somehow managed to comeback to life to try to achieve his goals, I think he's far beyond the 'talking' stage" Itachi continued.

" **Not to mention the fact that the 1st Hokage wasn't able to get through to him with his words, and that was Madara's best and only friend, not to mention the fact that he was Ashura's last incarnate. If his own 'brother' couldn't talk him out of it before, then there's no way that you can talk him out of it now"** Kurama finished.

"Okay, Okay it was just an suggestion. No need for everyone to gang up on me" Naruto mumbled to himself as he looked away from the group.

Sasuke ignored Naruto dejected face and turned towards the other Uchiha's.

"So do any of you have any ideas on how we should handle Madara?" Sasuke asked.

Obito and Itachi were quiet as they thought about ways to defeat their powerful ancestor. Surprisingly, it was Itachi that spoke up first.

"You two know him better than I do, so answer this question for me. Do you think that he'd be susceptible to a high level Genjutsu?" Itachi asked.

Obito dismissed the possibility almost immediately.

"Madara likely has his Rinnegan by now, so I doubt that even your Mangekyou ability would be able to trap him for long. Your Tsukuyomi is certainly powerful, but I don't think it's powerful enough to overtake a Rinnegan" Obito said.

"I'm inclined to agree with you Obito, but I wasn't talking about my Mangekyou Genjutsu" Itachi said making Sasuke's eyes widen in realization.

"You're talking about Shisui's Mangekyou aren't you" The youngest Uchiha asked.

Itachi nodded and Obito looked at the brothers in confusion. He had heard rumors about the power of Shisui the body flicker and he'd even known him when he was a little boy, but he doubted that his Mangekyou would be powerful enough to stop a full power Madara.

"Exactly, he has the strongest Genjutsu in history. 'Kotoamatsukami'" Itachi said opening a nearby window. Soon a crow flew in, but it wasn't a normal crow because it had a Mangekyou Sharingan in its left eye.

"What's so special about this 'Kotoamatsukami'?" Obito asked observing the Mangekyou pattern.

"It casts a very powerful Genjutsu that controls the mind and makes the person believe that they're doing things of their own free will, without ever having to make eye contact. This Genjutsu ability was so powerful that Shisui could've stopped the Uchiha's coup by trapping everyone in it" Itachi said.

"Well if that's the case then why didn't he? And how did Danzo get his other eye?" Sasuke asked.

"He tried to but Danzo and a bunch of his ROOT nin ambushed Shisui and took his right eye. He then managed to fight them off until I got there to help him. He entrusted his left eye with me before he committed suicide" Itachi said wincing internally at the memory of his best friend.

"Even so, I still have my doubts about whether or not this technique would work on Madara, but it would be worth trying if we can't come up with anything else" Obito said.

Itachi and Sasuke nodded in agreement. Then Naruto came up with another idea that he thought could help them defeat Madara.

"Guys I just thought of something that is guaranteed to give us the upper hand against Madara" Naruto said.

The Uchiha's all rolled their eyes simultaneously, but nonetheless decided to listen to what he had to say.

"What is your plan Naruto?" Itachi asked.

"Well The Bastard told us that Kabuto is the person who's using the 'Edo Tensei' technique to revive old powerful shinobi, and since Orochimaru was his teacher wouldn't he know how to use the technique too? And if he does wouldn't it make sense to ask him to resurrect the one person who was able to defeat Madara when he was alive and in his prime?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked at the fact that his best friend came to the same realization as he did earlier, but Itachi and Obito were surprised at Naruto's critical thinking skills.

"Who are you talking about reviving?" Itachi asked even though he had a feeling that he already knew who Naruto was referring to. He was just talking about him a moment ago.

"The previous Ashura incarnate and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju" Naruto said.

"That's actually a great idea" Sasuke said making Naruto let out a satisfied smirk.

" **I don't know why you look so satisfied Brat. I'm the one that came up with that plan not you"** Kurama said, keeping the fact that he remembered it from the past life a secret.

"That might be true, but they can't hear you, therefore it's my idea" Naruto responded internally making Kurama growl.

"And we might as well resurrect the other dead Hokage's while we're at it. Their power might be needed as well, and I'm sure you'd want to see your sensei again" Sasuke said as he looked at Obito.

"I don't think Minato-sensei would be very approving of what I've been doing, but that makes sense" Obito said.

"Wait, so my dad was your sensei and you still decided to control Kurama and attack the Village? I should kick your ass" Naruto said to Obito with his chakra flaring.

Sasuke understood what Naruto was going through, but they didn't have the time or energy to waste fighting amongst each other.

"You can fight him with this whole thing is over loser, but for now lets focus on defeating Madara and winning this war" Sasuke said putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Fine" Naruto said before punching Obito as hard as he could, sending the eldest Uchiha flying into the wall and shattering his nose.

"There, I feel much better now" Naruto said as he and Sasuke walked out of the door to go find Orochimaru.

Itachi walked over to Obito to see that the man's nose was already healing thanks to the Hashirama cells that he had in his body.

"You deserved that" Itachi said stoically as he looked down at his cousin.

"I know" Obito said while rubbing his sore nose.

Itachi nodded and offered his hand to Obito. Obito grabbed it and Itachi helped him back to his feet. Obito brushed himself off before addressing Itachi.

"Now tell me more about this 'Kotoamatsukami'" Obito said.

Itachi nodded and the two Uchihas spent the next few hours going over the ends and outs of Shisui's Mangekyou ability.

XxXxXx

Orochimaru was not happy. He was currently walking around the Leaf Village with Jiraiya, which wasn't the problem, the problem was that he had to wear a pair of Chakra cuffs while he was walking the streets. The Villagers had still been uneasy about his presence and that was the only compromise that they'd accept.

"To think I helped protect all these ingrates. The nerve of them" Orochimaru complained.

"Orochimaru did you forget that you killed the 3rd Hokage and tried to destroy the Village?" Jiraiya asked.

"No I didn't, and I don't feel any shame for my actions, but I didn't hurt or kill any of these people specifically, so I don't know why they're acting this way towards me" Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. Then he saw Naruto and Sasuke walking towards them, so he greeted them.

"Hey guys. What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked when he saw the serious expressions on their faces. Sasuke ignored the Sannin and spoke to Orochimaru.

"I need you to revive the previous Hokage to help us for this war" Sasuke deadpanned. Jiraiya looked at Sasuke in shock, while Orochimaru thought for a moment. Then he addressed his student.

"They've been sealed with the reaper death seal, so it would be nearly impossible to resurrect them, and even if I could do it, I would need 4 human sacrifices so that their souls can re-enter this world" Orochimaru said choosing his words carefully, but Sasuke had no time for Orochimaru's games.

"I know that you can do it, and I know you want to because it'll give you back the use of your arms. As for the sacrifices; I'm sure there are ninja in the jail that are scheduled to be executed anyway. Tsunade wouldn't care if they went missing" Sasuke said.

"SASUKE" "BASTARD" Jiraiya and Naruto shouted at the same time not believing what he had just said. Orochimaru just chuckled.

"You definitely have a point there. Okay I'll get right on that. Can I ask you why you want them revived?" Orochimaru said.

"Simply to help even out the scales. I have a feeling that the enemy resurrected previous Kage, so It'll be nice to have them on our side for the war" Sasuke said, but after spending the past two years with the man, Orochimaru could tell when Sasuke was hiding things from him.

' _ **That's not the only reason is it Sasuke? Oh well it hardly matters whether you tell me or not. Your wind is blowing again, so I'll help an any way I can'**_ Orochimaru thought to himself as he simply nodded at Sasuke's explanation.

"Fair enough. Luckily for you I happen to know where the materials that we need are located, so we can revive the previous Hokage as soon as we get the sacrifices ready" Orochimaru said.

Sasuke nodded, but they were interrupted by Naruto, who still had an incredulous look on his face.

"Wait, are you seriously going to take prisoners scheduled for death out of their cells to use for human sacrifices?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. They are already scheduled to die anyway, and Sasuke is right. Nobody will miss them, and even if Tsunade complains about it, I'm sure she'll change her tune when she sees her grandfather and great-uncle again" Orochimaru said dismissively.

"That's still wrong though. Using their bodies as vessels for dead souls? How can you not cringe at the thought of that?" Jiraiya asked.

"We're using their bodies for the good of the Village, and Shinobi World as a whole, but I don't have to explain that to you. If you don't have the stomach for it then you don't have to be involved. It's necessary so either help us, or get lost" Sasuke said impatiently.

He was still on edge because of Madara's presence, so he was not in the mood to argue morality with the Sannin. Orochimaru smirked at Jiraiya's indignant expression after being scolded by a teenager. He would've laughed, but that would've caused Jiraiya, and probably Naruto, to get loud and he wanted to spare his eardrums.

"So are you coming along or not?" Orochimaru asked the two knuckle headed ninja.

Naruto and Jiraiya looked at each other and seemed to be having a silent conversation amongst themselves, before they looked back at him and nodded.

"Good then lets go. We have work to do" Orochimaru said with a smirk as they walked towards Konoha's prison to acquire their sacrifices.

XxXxXx

Madara smirked at the sight before him. The other three shinobi were looking at him with a mixture of aww and fear. Looks like his reputation outlasted his lifespan.

Kisame was uneasy about Madara. He was much more powerful than the other one that he knew, and Kisame wasn't sure if he could take him in a one on one fight if he had too. He had to get out of there quickly and reconnect with Itachi. Kisame was sure that the other man would have some sort of plan to deal with him. Itachi always had a plan. As he was planning a way to escape, Kakazu spoke up.

"You are the Madara Uchiha? The one who fought against Hashirama Senju multiple times, and was considered to be his equal? I've heard many stories about you, and I must say that based off of what I just felt; you're even scarier than they say" Kakazu said.

"I am Madara yes, but I'm more interested about you. You are Kakazu from the Hidden Waterfall Village right? I heard that you attempted to assassinate Hashirama at one point. It was a foolish endeavor, but I respect it because it took guts. I am curious to how you survived that encounter... in fact I'm curious as to how are still alive now. You look as though you are still in your prime despite the fact that you should be well into your 80s, if not 90. What's the secret to your youth?" Madara asked.

Before Kakazu could answer, however, Hidan pointed his finger towards Madara and spoke.

"Hey hold the fuck up. This man just killed our leader and Konan and you're acting all buddy buddy with him Kakazu, but if I would've killed them everyone would be on my case. What makes him so fucking special"

Madara looked at Hidan as if he was crazy. No one had ever been so vulgar in his presence, and anyone who had was killed instantly. Madara had no idea who this man thought he was, but he decided to warn him, before his mouth got him killed.

"If I were you, I wouldn't curse so much in front of me. I can't stand a potty mouth" Madara said. Hidan wasn't intimidated and didn't back down, despite the fact that Madara was giving him a glare with his Rinnegan.

"Oh yeah? Well what the FUCK are you going to do about it you FUCKING BITCH" Hidan said yelling every curse word and pointing his scythe at Madara.

Madara would've applauded him for his bravery, if it wasn't so stupid. He flashed his Rinnegan, and the Limbo version of himself punched a hole through Hidan's chest. The man coughed up blood and looked around in confusion when he noticed that Madara hadn't moved from his spot.

"I don't know what you just did with your freaky eyes but you gotta do better than that if you're gonna think you can boss me around" Hidan said as he backed up to remove his body from the invisible arm that punched through him.

Madara was genuinely surprised when Hidan didn't drop dead from the hole in his chest. Instead he charged at him with his scythe raised up. Madara dodged swing after swing with minimal difficulty even though his mind wasn't on the fight. He was watching the hole in Hidan's chest closely and was surprised even more when it closed up by itself.

' _ **What kind of Jutsu is this? Is he as good at healing himself as Hashirama was? He didn't even need a hand sign'**_ Madara thought as he continued to dodge Hidan's onslaught.

"Looks like you bit off more than you could chew challenging me" Hidan mocked, though he was clearly frustrated that he wasn't able to had a hit yet.

"Interesting choice of words for someone who won't be able to chew ever again" Madara replied.

"What are you talking about you fucking bi..." Hidan was interrupted by Madara who took out his own scythe and cut Hidan's head clean off of his shoulders. It happened so fast that neither Kakazu, Kabuto, Kisame or Zetsu saw it happen. One second Madara was dodging, and the next thing they knew, Hidan's head was rolling on the floor.

"He was an interesting fellow. His healing jutsu is admirable, and if he was stronger he might've posed a threat to me when I was an old man" Madara said.

"Okay I admit you're stronger than I thought, but I could beat any old man's ass, just ask the Mummy Bastard" Hidan said while ignoring the glare he was receiving from Kakazu.

Madara was thoroughly surprised and now he was sure that he'd seen it all. The man that he had just beheaded was now talking to him as though his head wasn't separated from his body.

"What are you" Madara asked pointing his scythe at Hidan's disembodied head.

"I am Hidan. Lord Jashin's most devoted follower" Hidan said proudly.

"He's also an immortal idiot" Kakazu said while walking over to Hidan and kicking his head to the other side of the room, laughing while Hidan spit curses at him.

"Immortality huh? It's interesting, but it's wasted on a fool like him. He's not strong enough to really capitalize on his gift, and he's a complete idiot" Madara observed.

"HEY! WAIT TILL I GET MY HEAD REATTACHED TO MY BODY. YOU WONT BE TALKING SO TOUGH THEN YOU BASTARD" Hidan shouted from his location.

Madara ignored him and turned back towards Kakazu.

"If you two were partners within the Akatsuki and you didn't kill each other, then it's safe to assume that you're immortal as well. Or at least the closest thing to it right?" Madara asked. Kakazu nodded.

"Its not quite immortality, but I'll never die a natural death, and an opponent would have to kill me multiple times, to actually make sure I stay dead, but I'm too strong for a single opponent to be able to do that" Kakazu said confidently.

Madara nodded at that before he turned to Kisame, who flinched internally as Madara's Rinnegan seemed to look into his soul.

"What about you fish man? What's your name and what can you do? I see Samehada on your back, so you're one of the Ninja Swordsman of the Mist, but how powerful are you?" Madara asked. Kisame didn't know how, but he got the feeling that if he lied the other man would know somehow, so he decided to tell the truth for the moment.

"I am Kisame Hoshigaki, and you are correct I was once a member of the 7 Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. My chakra reserves are comparable to that of a Bijuu, and so they call me the 'Tailed Beast without a Tail'" Kisame said.

"Interesting nickname. The Bijuu vary in strength so I hope for your sake, you mean chakra reserves comparable to one of the stronger Bijuu" Madara replied.

Kisame wisely decided not to reply to the obvious on his strength. Instead he just nodded.

Madara looked at the 3 remaining Akatsuki members, before telling them his plan.

"I wanna test want you can do, so I'm going to have you five launch an all out attack on the Leaf Village like you did the Sound Village. You have my full permission to destroy the Village if you wish. Just make sure you bring back the Jinchuuriki alive, so that the Nine Tails can be extracted" Madara said.

Kisame smirked inwardly at finally having a chance to head to Konoha and get to Itachi, then he realized that Madara said five when there were only three of them.

"What do you mean five? Hidan, Kakazu and I are the only ones left since you disposed of Pein and Konan" Kisame asked.

Madara smirked and gestured at Kabuto who opened a nearby door revealing a clearly revived Konan and a Red haired man that had the Rinnegan just like Madara and Pein did.

"These two will accompany you, now go now and don't fail, or I will personally see to your execution" Madara threatened.

And with that the remaining members of the Akatsuki except Zetsu, quickly left the Hideout and raced towards the Leaf Village with every intention of destroying it.

Madara smirked in self satisfaction.

"I hope the world is ready. This is the beginning of a new era, and there's no one that can stop me" Madara exclaimed with a laugh.

And for the moment, Madara Uchiha was right.

 **TBC**

 **TheDeadGirlRisen- Orochimaru will have an interaction with Kabuto soon enough. He's been bad without his permission so of course Orochimaru has to set him straight**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- I'm sorry. I like B too, but I couldn't see a way to use him other than as a Edo Tensei fighter for the enemy, but I hope you liked this chapter too**

 **Acetwolf94- THANK YOU! I really hope that you continue to enjoy it**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Sorry but I agree. Killer B was the most powerful Jinchuuriki before Naruto and Kurama got on the same page and I enjoyed him in the anime too, but I just couldn't see any other way to incorporate him into the story. It wasn't easy for me, but it had to happen**

 **MorpheustheDream- that's reassuring to hear considering all the guest reviews that complain about them haha. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Orochimaru still cares for Kabuto somewhat so he doesn't want him being hunted by all of the Great Shinobi Nations. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I saw that you updated so I can't to read that as well!**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you! I hope you like this one too!**

 **Thank you for everyone who read and reviews. I have a question for all of you that will be important for the future of the story. Do you all think that Kotoamatsukami (Shisui's Mangekyou Ability) can work on a full power Madara? Please either Review your opinion or PM me. I'm really curious about this, so please feel free to share your opinion! Until Next Time! - Dishon 3**


	32. Return of the Hokage

**Chapter 32**

Elsewhere, Hinata and the rest of Team 8 were on their way back to the Village.

Kurenai had requested permission from Tsunade to leave the Village to get her Grandmother and bring her back to the Village. Tsunade was hesitant at first because of the looming war and Kurenai's condition, but eventually agreed on the condition that her team went with her. Kurenai happily agreed to her terms, stating that her grandmother would want to see the teenagers anyway.

Now here they were, with Kuri commenting about how Team 8 had gotten so much older since the last time she had seen them.

"Oh my goodness. Kiba, Shino... you're both so tall and handsome now, and Akamaru looks more like a wolf than dog. Not mention the fact that you've grown into a beautiful young woman, Hinata. Why haven't you kids came to visit me like you promised?" Kuri asked them.

Kiba and Shino both looked at Hinata for an answer, but Hinata looked away from them, signifying that she didn't have an answer either. Sighing, Kurenai decided to speak up to save her team.

"Kiba and Shino have been training vigorously to become Chunin and they've also been busy with their Clan Affairs. Hinata was recently on an S-class mission and when she returned there was a scandal within the Village. We've all been preoccupied" she said trying to justify their absence.

"Yeah! We didn't forget about you Grandma Kuri; We were just busy living the life of an Shinobi" Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Kuri looked at them in suspicion for a moment before she sighed and accepted their reasoning, but she wasn't quite finished questioning them.

"Hinata, how far has your medical ninjutsu come since the last time I saw you?" Kuri asked turning her head towards the Hyuuga.

Instead of answering verbally, Hinata took a Kunai out of her ninja pouch. She smiled at Kuri before she slashed a deep gash across her arm. Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino all shrieked in surprise, while Kuri just looked at Hinata with an eyebrow raised in interest.

Hinata then focused a small amount of Chakra around the cut and the others watched in awe as the wound slowly began to heal itself. A few moments later the wound closed completely and Hinata's skin looked as though it hadn't been cut at all.

"Wow that's amazing Hinata! I've never seen you do that before" Kiba said loudly, being the most vocal person in the group. Shino and Kurenai nodded in agreement impressed by Hinata's display of advanced Medical Ninjutsu.

"You've come so far, in such a short amount of time. It took me decades to reach the level of expertise that I'm at, but you seemed to have caught up to me in just 2 years. You truly are a phenomenal shinobi Hinata" Kuri said giving Hinata a giant smile.

Hinata blushed lightly at the Kuri's words, but she quickly recovered and replied to her.

"Thank you for the kind words, but I should be thanking you since you started me down this path of becoming a Medical Ninja. I would've never made it this far, if it hadn't been for your early teachings" Hinata said.

"Don't forget that fact that you went to the Sound Village with Sasuke for 2 years, and you both came back freaky strong. There's no telling what kind of training you two did together while you were there" Kiba interjected.

Hinata blushed and Kuri raised her eyebrow at Hinata. She noticed how the aura around Hinata changed when Kiba said the name Sasuke and she was curious to know why.

"Who is this Sasuke person? Is he a medical ninja as well?" Kuri asked.

"No, Sasuke isn't a medical ninja. He is the friend that I was telling you about 2 years ago, who I wanted to help achieve his goal. He just recently achieved it, before the news of this War began to spread" Hinata said.

"He's also Hinata's boyfriend" Kiba said teasingly making Kuri smile and Hinata's face burn a bright read.

"Silly Kiba you shouldn't embarrass Hinata like that..." Kurenai started making Hinata look at her appreciatively before she continued "...besides she's betrothed to him so fiancé would be the more appropriate term for him" Kurenai finished with a smirk.

Hinata looked at Kurenai in disbelief. She didn't expect her Sensei to tease her too. It seemed like Shino was the only member of her team that Hinata could count on not to embarrass her. It least that's what she thought until the bug user spoke up.

"My guard beetles alerted me to the fact that they are very intimate with each other despite the fact that they haven't gone all the way yet. I would say that they're in a very successful relationship" he said blankly.

Hinata turned a darker shade of red than her team had seen before as Kiba and Kurenai laughed at Shino's words. She had forgotten all about Shino's stupid guard beetles, and the fact that Shino's bugs had informed him about her and Sasuke's intimacy made her feel very uncomfortable.

"S-Shino, what do your bugs tell you?" Hinata stuttered as she asked. She hoped for her teammate's sake that Sasuke never found out about their little spies. Hinata had a feeling that he wouldn't feel bad about sending Amaterasu flames at the insects in the slightest. He might not even mind sending them at Shino himself.

"Relax. They don't tell me any details. Just when you and Sasuke are 'busy' and when you're not. I filled in the blanks with my own speculation" Shino said.

His response made Hinata feel slightly better, but she was still a little perturbed that Shino's guard beetles reported to him about when they're intimate and that Shino makes guesses about her and Sasuke's activities.

Kuri placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder as she tried to contain the excitement in her eyes. She failed horribly in this endeavor.

"Hinata you just have to introduce me to this Sasuke person. I consider you all my adoptive grandchildren, so I have to meet him to make sure he's good enough for my youngest granddaughter. What clan is he from?" Kuri asked. Hinata blinked at the question, she didn't know whether or not she should tell the truth at first, but in the end she decided that she had no reason to lie.

"He's from the Uchiha Clan" Hinata said making Kuri's eyes widen.

"You're engaged to the only survivor from that once legendary and antisocial clan? They were known for their temper and power, but I remember a friend of mine saying that no clan loves deeper than the Uchiha. Geez Hinata, how did you pull that off?" Kuri asked in amazement making Hinata a little uncomfortable.

"Well he saved me from a kidnapping attempt from a Kumo nin when we were 7, and he helped me get over my shyness and fears about not being strong enough. Then one day when we were 13 he asked me on a date and things just kind of went from there" Hinata said giving Kuri an awkward smile.

The old woman was absolutely beaming with happiness as she took Hinata's hands in hers.

"That's amazing. You've found someone that loves and cares for you at a young age and you're already engaged at just 16 years old. I hope this war doesn't last too long because I can't wait to plan out your wedding and babysit my cute little Uchiha-Hyuuga great grand babies" Kuri said sighing in happiness ignoring Hinata's cherry read face.

"Now if only Kurenai will follow your example and get a man so that she can give me some great grandkids too" Kuri said shaking her head. Kurenai rolled her eyes and decided that it was the perfect time to drop the bomb on her team and grandmother.

"I'm pregnant" she said.

Everyone looked at Kurenai in shock for awhile before Kiba hesitantly broke the silence and approached Kurenai.

"Akamaru told me that he smelled something different about your scent, and I've even smelled Asuma-sensei's scent on you more than a few times since you've become our sensei, but I always thought it was because you two train a lot together. I would've never guessed" Kiba said stopping in front of Kurenai.

' _ **Well I guess that spoils the secret of who the father is'**_ Kurenai thought to herself as she followed Kiba's eyes to her stomach.

He wanted to touch her belly, but he didn't know how she would react to that, so he gave her his best puppy dog look. Kurenai smiled and nodded seemingly aware of what the Inuzuka was asking.

Kiba slowly reached a hand towards Kurenai until it rested on the slightly rounded belly. He wouldn't have ever noticed the slight bump if it hadn't been for the fact that he had his hand on it. He closed his eyes and focused until his dog like senses picked up a heartbeat from within Kurenai's stomach.

Kiba let out a bright smile as he looked up at his sensei with pride and amazement in his eyes. Kurenai smiled back down at Kiba and was about to motion over to the rest of her team, but when she looked back up she noticed that Hinata and Shino were already making their way towards her.

Hinata bent down next to Kiba and placed a hand over her stomach as well, and Shino stood just behind them with his insects swirling around him.

"Kurenai-sensei may I use my Byakugan to look at the baby?" Hinata asked signaling to her eyes.

"And can I use some of my bugs one to assess the health of the child?" Shino asked right after. His sunglasses concealed his eyes but his hopefulness and nervousness was evident in his tone.

Kurenai blinked at the question, before laughing to herself internally. She had one of the best sensory and tracking teams in the Leaf, so of course each of them had ways to check on the baby even while it was still in her stomach.

"Of course" Kurenai said answering both questions simultaneously. Shino let out 5 fly-like insects and let them crawl across Kurenai's stomach and Hinata activated her Byakugan.

Hinata gasped as she saw the small child still growing inside of Kurenai and Shino let out a rare smile when he felt the baby's presence for the first time.

"This is amazing! Congratulations Kurenai-sensei" Hinata said. Kurenai was about to respond, but a body collided with hers before she could.

She looked down to see that her grandmother had attached herself to her. She had tears in her eyes and she held on to Kurenai.

"Finally! Congratulations on your pregnancy. You've made me a proud and happy old woman today. Do you know its gender yet?" Kuri asked. Kurenai shook her head no and opened her mouth to explain why.

"No. I wanted to go on this mission to come get you before I went to the hospital to check the babies gender" Kurenai said.

Seeing Kuri's curious expression, Hinata decided to offer her help.

"I saw the gender of the baby with my Byakugan. I can tell you now, if Kurenai-sensei doesn't mind" Hinata said.

Everyone else looked at her in amazement. They didn't know that the Byakugan could work like that, but they were glad that it did. Kiba, Shino and Kuri were all giving Kurenai pleading looks, and Kurenai had to admit that she was curious as well.

"Go ahead and tell us Hinata" Kurenai said giving her permission.

Everyone looked at Hinata while holding their breath. Kurenai and Kuri were secretly hoping that it was a girl, while Shino and Kiba were not so secretly hoping for a boy.

"Its a girl" Hinata said with a smile on her face. Kuri cheered and hugged her granddaughter tighter. Kiba and Shino may have been disappointed at the gender, but they were still happy for Kurenai.

Then as if finally realizing something important, Kiba and Shino spoke simultaneously.

"Come on we need to get back to the Village. It's not safe out here for a pregnant woman" the two males looked at each other in surprise, but quickly shook it off to glare at their sensei.

' _ **Oh boy. Looks like they've finally regained their senses enough to be overprotective about Kurenai-sensei'**_ Hinata thought to herself.

Kurenai chuckled nervously coming to the same conclusion that Hinata had moments earlier.

"Of course lets get back to the Village" Kurenai said shaking her head when Kiba and Akamaru lead walked in front of them and Shino took up the rear.

Hinata wasn't quite as obvious as her teammates, but she kept her Byakugan activated as well, just in case someone wanted to attack. She'd see them way before they got close enough to be a threat.

Kurenai and Kuri talked and laughed as they made their way back to the Village under the protection of Team 8.

XxXxXx

Sakura and Neji blinked in surprise when Kakashi barreled through the hospital door with Hanare in his arms. The panicked expression on the masked ninja's face was even more surprising because they were so used to seeing him being composed and playful, so the switch was concerning.

However, the expression on Kakashi's face was countered by the annoyed, but slightly amused expression on Hanare's.

"Sakura, they told me you were on break right now, but I knew that you'd be in here sucking face with Neji. Normally I'm all for that, but right now I need you to check on Hanare for me" Kakashi said.

Sakura looked at Hanare with a worried expression on her face. She was about to ask what was wrong with her, but Kakashi continued before she could voice her question.

"She's been throwing up consistently almost everyday for like the past month. At first I thought it was a common cold, but now I suspect that it's something more dangerous, so I need you to find out what it is and heal it immediately" Kakashi said with his tone holding no room for any arguing.

' _ **Hmm, consistently throwing up for almost everyday for the past month? It could be food poisoning, but I doubt that it'd last for a month especially for a shinobi of her caliber. That means there's only one thing that it could be'**_ Sakura thought to herself as her eyes began to widen in disbelief.

Hanare noticed Sakura's expression and nodded with a smile on her face, sure that Sakura had figured out what Kakashi couldn't. After seeing Hanare's nod, Sakura's eyes lit up in excitement and she inadvertently let out a shriek of happiness that startled Neji and annoyed Kakashi. Kakashi let Hanare stand on her own before he turned to scold his former student.

"Sakura focus. Now is not the time to be shrieking randomly. You have to find out what's wrong with Hanare and I would appreciate it if you were serious about it" Kakashi said. Neji couldn't help but agree with the other Jonin.

"For once I agree with him. Why do you look so happy when Hanare is sick with some unknown disease?" Neji asked not bothering to hide his confusion and curiosity.

Sakura and Hanare made eye contact and seemed to have a silent conversation with each other before Hanare sighed and nodded again and Sakura beamed at her.

"You're right Neji. Can you take a look at her with your Byakugan and see if there is anything wrong with her internal organs? Particularly around her stomach area" Sakura asked. Neji and Kakashi both looked at her in confusion at the request and Sakura barely restrained the urge to slap her face in disbelief.

' _ **For two people who have been praised for their intelligence, they sure are dense when it comes to things like this'**_ Sakura thought to herself.

Neji shrugged his shoulders then nodded as he was about to do as he was instructed, but Kakashi intervened.

"Hold on Sakura, I don't approve of that. The Byakugan is known to be able to see through clothes if the user wishes to. How do I know that Neji won't try to peep at my precious Hanare while he's searching for something wrong?" Kakashi asked accusingly while looking at Neji, who looked absolutely furious at the accusation.

"What!? That's highly frowned upon within my clan, and what makes you think that I'd even want to look at Hanare like that? I have Sakura" Neji growled at Kakashi.

"Yes I know that you and Sakura have been dating for the past couple of years, but we both know that Sakura's chest is rather flat for her age while Hanare's are perfect. Admit it! You just want a peek you pervert" Kakashi exclaimed accusingly.

"How dare I you accuse me of being a pervert. You literally walk around reading Icha Icha Paradise everyday. Someone with a porn addiction can't judge anyone for being a pervert" Neji snapped back.

"You still do that? I thought I asked you to stop reading that" Hanare said glaring at Kakashi. Kakashi wisely decided not to comment and kept glaring at Neji.

Sakura has a vein forming in her forehead because of her sensei's previous comment about her breast size, but she forced herself to remain calm because of the great news that she had discovered. She decided she would have to take matters into own hands.

She walked up to Kakashi and roughly shoved him out of Neji's line of sight before turning her head towards her boyfriend.

"Can you do what I asked you to do now?" Sakura asked, but by her tone, it was obvious to everyone in the room that it wasn't a question. It was an order.

Neji didn't want to anger his inhumanly strong and prone to violence girlfriend anymore than Kakashi already had, so he activated his Byakugan immediately. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Hanare and Sakura both gave him a knowing smile, but Kakashi didn't see that. All he saw was the look of shock on Neji's face and it made him feel very uneasy.

"What is it Neji? What did you see?" Kakashi asked with nervousness evident in his voice. Neji continued to gape like a fish for a few moments before he collected himself returned his face to his natural stoic appearance.

He then turned to Kakashi and gave a teasing, but friendly smirk.

"I just saw your unborn Son. Congratulations Kakashi" Neji said.

Kakashi's visible eye widened as he processed the information that Neji had just given him. Now everything made sense to him. He looked at the smirking face of Neji, then to the brightly smiling face of Sakura, before his eyes finally made it back to Hanare who was giving him a small smile with a light pink blush on her face.

Then Kakashi did what any powerful Jonin male would do in this situation. He fainted.

Sakura, Neji and Hanare all looked at Kakashi in concern for a moment before they all let out small chuckles.

"Seems like he took the news well" Neji observed standing over the unconscious Kakashi. Sakura gent down to touch Kakashi's forehead and check his chakra levels before allowing her green healing chakra to spread over his forehead.

"He was just shocked by the news. He'll regain his consciousness soon enough" Sakura replied.

"I should've figured that something like this would happen. After he grabbed me and forced me to come to the hospital, it turns out that he's the one that actually needs medical attention" Hanare grumbled to herself while shaking her head.

"Believe it or not, most expecting fathers faint when hearing the news in the hospital. Shinobi men are no exception" Sakura said.

Neji scoffed at the very thought of fainting. There was no way he'd do something so embarrassing over the news that he was having a child. Sakura rolled her eyes and ignored him, she knew that when the time came, that he would more than likely find himself in the same position that Kakashi was in, but she'll let him believe otherwise for the time being.

"Alright let's go to the ultrasound room. I'm sure he'll want to know if the baby is healthy or not when he wakes up. Lets go" Sakura said.

Hanare nodded in agreement before she and Sakura left the room. Neji hoisted the new father over his shoulders and followed them with a very amused expression on his face.

XxXxXx

Sasuke, Naruto, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were now on the old Uzumaki grounds on the outskirts of Konoha. They had already acquired their sacrifices by taking them out of the local jail, and were now waiting as Orochimaru stepped forward with the reaper mask in his hands.

"Alright is everyone ready?" Orochimaru asked. Everyone nodded and without wasting anytime, he placed the mask on his face.

The Reaper appeared and released the souls of the first through fourth Hokage's and it also gave Orochimaru the use of his arms back, but everyone could see Orochimaru's body steadily deteriorating under the immense pressure of the reaper.

Jiraiya was concerned for his friend, but the look from Sasuke kept him in place. It seemed like the Teen knew that Orochimaru would survive this, so Jiraiya stayed put and didn't intervene.

A few moments later, the process was complete. Orochimaru was breathing heavily as his body began to reform itself, but he felt a smirk tug at his features at his accomplishment. He was able to revive the first four Hokage at close to their original power, and he still managed to keep control over The 2nd, 3rd and 4th even though he had a difficult time doing it. The 1st though... Well Orochimaru knew that he could undo his bindings whenever he felt like it.

All of the Hokage blinked in confusion for a second before they were more aware of their surrondings and noticed the 4 people standing in front of them.

"Naruto?" Minato asked.

"Dad!" Naruto said excitedly, unfortunately Hiruzen interrupted the father-son reunion.

"What is the meaning of this Orochimaru? You've undid the reaper seal and called us back to life for what purpose? Do you plan on using us to destroy the Village? And Jiraiya why are you standing with him; don't tell me you joined his side. And what are Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun doing here? You two better start explaining soon" Hiruzen said.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at each other and thought of a way to answer all of their former sensei's questions, but they never got the chance because of the 2nd Hokage intervening.

"You know these striplings Hiruzen?" Tobirama asked. Hiruzen sighed and nodded.

"Yes the two taller men were my students. Naruto-kun was always in trouble when he was younger so I always had deal with him, and Sasuke is the last survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, so I kept a close eye on him as well" Hiruzen said.

Sasuke flinched at that. He couldn't remember the 3rd Hokage keeping tabs on him at all. Was it possible that the former Kage was sneaky enough to avoid detection from his Sharingan? Sasuke doubted it, but he wouldn't be surprised if he had a technique that enabled him to do that. The 4th Hokage spoke up next.

"Wait, Naruto was always in trouble growing up? Kushina wouldn't be very approving of that" Minato said raising an eyebrow at Naruto who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. The first Hokage looked at Minato with a frown on his face.

"And just who the Hell are you?" Hashirama asked as he and Tobirama glared at Minato. Minato blinked in confusion for a moment before he realized that he had actually never met the 1st or 2nd Hokage so it was only natural that they'd question him.

He turned around to reveal his Kage robe, signifying that he was the 4th Hokage. Hashirama's expression instantly brightened and he asked how the Village was doing. Minato sweat dropped before explaining that he wouldn't know because he died before Hiruzen. Hashirama nodded in understanding before turning his attention to the four living people.

"Who's the 5th Hokage?" Hashirama asked. Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at each other for a second before they smirked and looked back at Hashirama.

"Your granddaughter Tsunade Senju" they said simultaneously shocking both Hashirama and Tobirama, though the latter managed to contain his surprise. Seeing his oppurtunity to get more answers, Minato addressed his predecessor.

"And what do you mean Uchiha Massacre? There were tensions at times, but Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina were close, and Fugaku and I were friends as well, so what happened after my death that could've lead to such a horrible thing? And why didn't the rest of the Village help whoever attacked the Uchiha?" Minato asked looking at Hiruzen. Hiruzen looked at Sasuke hesitantly before he began to speak.

"Well we didn't help because it is well known that the Sharingan was capable of controlling the Tailed Beasts, so naturally, we couldn't rule out the possibility that the Uchiha had planned the Nine Tails attack on the Village, so they were under suspicion..." Hiruzen started, but he was interrupted by Sasuke.

"Shut the Hell up with your half truths. The Leaf was responsible for the destruction of the Uchiha Clan. My clan was blatantly blamed for the attack, and since we were already isolated from the Village to begin with, it was easy to make the decision that you did. You didn't even try to speak to my father, instead you let Danzo go behind your back and ordered my brother to kill the rest of our family. He knew that a Civil War would lead to the Leaf being vulnerable to attack from the other Shinobi Nations, so he agreed on the condition that I could be spared. You then labeled him as a rouge shinobi and had him act as your spy within the Akatsuki" Sasuke said glaring at Hiruzen with his Sharingan activated.

The rest of the Kage were surprised by Sasuke's outburst and Hiruzen looked down with shame and regret obvious on his features. He wasn't proud of it, but Sasuke had spoken the complete truth.

"Lord 3rd... that can't be true" Minato said looking at Hiruzen. When the man didn't look back up, Minato cursed himself.

"This is my fault. If I didn't die, then they're wouldn't have been tensions between the Leaf and the Uchiha. I'm sure that Fugaku and I could've worked something out" Minato said, but Tobirama interrupted.

"I think you handled that situation like a real Hokage Hiruzen" Tobirama said shocking most of the people in the room. He either didn't notice this, or didn't care as he continued to speak.

"I figured that it would only be a matter of time before the Uchiha would try to turn against us, that's why I purposely gave them their own district on the outskirts of the Village, so that I could monitor them and prepare for that worst case scenario" Tobirama said.

"Tobirama, I specifically told you not to slight the Uchiha. Look at what your mistake has led too. Many innocent Uchiha's have been slain and a young child has been forced to endure that" Hashirama said.

"I didn't slight them. I made them the Police Force of the Village. It was a position that they were undoubtedly qualified for, being the strongest clan after the Senju" Tobirama said try to reason with his older brother.

"Your decision to seperate the Uchiha from the rest of the Leaf proved to be a dumb move though, because of the separation, no one understood the Uchiha. Human nature causes you to fear what you don't understand, and as we all know, fear breeds hatred. Which means that your almost directly responsible for what took place Lord 2nd" Orochimaru said.

"Know your place stripling. Don't pretend to blame me for the Uchiha's Massacre when I did everything in my power to give them a position within the Village despite distrusting them" Tobirama said in annoyance.

"He brings up good points Tobirama. That's why I told you that one time to..." Hashirama started before Tobirama cut him off.

"Shut Up older brother. I'm trying to talk to this stripling" Tobirama said.

Everyone in the room besides Sasuke was shocked to see when Hashirama got a look of hurt on his face, and hang his head down in shame.

"Now" Tobirama continued "I did what I had to do to assure the safety of the Village for more generations to come. Besides its probably for the best that they've been eliminated anyway"

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT!?" Hashirama and Naruto shouted at the same time. Sasuke would've found it funny that the two Ashura incarnates were in sync, but he was too busy trying to contain his anger at Tobirama. He had heard the man disrespect his clan the last time around, and it wasn't any easier to endure the second time.

"Quiet elder brother, you know as well as I do that the Uchiha are a clan cursed by evil" Tobirama said.

The room froze when Sasuke decided to allow his chakra to flare around him. The Kage were instantly on alert especially Tobirama who had a feeling that most of the hostile chakra was directed at him.

"Quiet. I don't care about whatever supposed curse my clan has; I didn't have Orochimaru summon you back to life for you to bitch about who's fault it was that the Uchiha Massacre happened. There are much more important things to worry about right now. The Akatsuki has declared war on Konoha" Sasuke started but he was interrupted by Tobirama.

"Why is that our concern brat? Are shinobi nowadays so weak that they aren't capable of fighting their own wars?" Tobirama asked raising an eyebrow at Sasuke. Sasuke was really starting to get pissed off, and soon his Sharingan tomoe evolved into it's Mangekyou pattern, shocking the 4 Hokage.

"It is your concern because the enemy has resurrected Madara Uchiha, and if you keep talking to me like your superior; I'd have no problem killing you now, so you don't have to worry about Madara" Sasuke snapped at Tobirama. Tobirama didn't take to too kindly to being threatened by the Uchiha so he let his chakra flare as well.

"You Damn child cursed with the Uchiha evil. In that case I shall deal with you here and now" Tobirama said lifting his finger.

"Tobirama!" Hashirama said as he flared his chakra as well.

At that point, Naruto was right next to Sasuke in his Bijuu mode and Orochimaru and Jiraiya were also standing protectively in front of Sasuke in case a fight was going to break out. However, Hashirama paid no attention to that as he glared at his younger brother.

"Lower your finger" he said sternly.

Tobirama looked at Hashirama for a moment before he sighed and lowered his finger. Not just that, but he completely dispelled his chakra. Hashirama dispelled his shortly after and laughed loudly at the pout on Tobirama's face. Everyone else also lowered their chakra, not really wanting to anger the legendary 'God of Shinobi'.

"Sorry about that. Of course we'll help with Madara. He is, of course, my problem to deal with. I thought that I could reason with him, but in the end he was too stubborn. He even found a way to come back to life for his ambitions... This time I'll be sure to finish things between us" Hashirama said with a more serious voice.

"I understand what you mean Super Grandpa 1st. Indra incarnates never wanna listen to us Ashura incarnates because they think that they're always right. Sasuke is the same way when it comes to listening to me" Naruto said nodding his head in understanding, unaware of the confused looks that everyone besides Sasuke were giving him.

Sasuke slapped his forehead at the idiocy of his best friend and Kurama was sharing the sentiment from inside of Naruto. Sometimes the blonde didn't know what to say out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by that. Who are Indra and Ashura?" Hashirama asked. Sasuke sighed and figured that there would be no harm in telling the people in the room. He trusted Orochimaru and Jiraiya somewhat and the other people would be taking the secret to the grave after the war is over...literally.

"Naruto and I are reincarnations of Indra and Ashura Otsutsuki, the sons of the Sage of the Six Paths, and the previous reincarnations before us were in fact Madara Uchiha as Indra and Hashirama Senju as Ashura. Because of the grudge the two brothers held throughout the course of their life, their incarnates are destined to meet and become close. This, more often then not leads to them forming a close bond but then ultimately becoming mortal enemies. Naruto and I plan to break that cycle" Sasuke said.

The room was quiet for a long stretch of time as everyone processed the information that Sasuke had given them. Surprisingly, Tobirama was the first to speak up.

"Wow... not only are you cursed by the Uchiha Evil, but you are completely insane. So insane that I might be able to actually see you having some connection to Madara that surpasses blood ties. But I don't believe your nonsense about being descendant from the Sage of Six Paths. Legends don't even recall him having children, so why would I believe something so foolish from a child?" Tobirama said.

"I don't know Lord 2nd. The half of the Kyuubi that I sealed within myself confirmed that the Sage of Six Paths did in fact have two children named Indra and Ashura. He described Indra was a focused, ambitious and powerful man who strove for peace, but was determined to do it with his own power, without the help of others. And he says Ashura was a goofy klutz that rather make friends and rely on the help of others as his source of strength" Minato said still dazed from the thought that his son might have some connection to the legendary Sage of Six Paths.

"Hmm. Well this Indra person shares qualities with Madara for sure, and goofy klutz certainly sounds like my elder brother, but I still don't believe it" Tobirama said dismissing the idea. Hashirama looked more than a little hesitant as well and Naruto could see that, so he decided to speak up.

"Before you dismiss the idea completely just take a second and really focus on your chakra. You'll see that we're telling the truth" Naruto said. Hashirama looked at Naruto and felt a sense of familiarity in his bright blue orbs, so he decided to at least do as the teen asked.

Hashirama focused hard on his chakra for a few moments. His eyes widened significantly when he noticed that slowly, but surely a being was starting to manifest itself out of his chakra. The man stood back to back with him and because of Sasuke and Naruto, Hashirama could easily determine who this man was.

"...It's true" Hashirama said the amazement clear in his voice. The declaration startled the rest of the room as well.

"What?" Tobirama asked searching for an explanation.

"It's faint, but I can definitely feel another person's presence within me. We almost have exactly the same chakra so it was tough to see him, but Ashura Otsutsuki is definitely there. I'm guessing you already knew that huh?" Hashirama said addressing Naruto. Naruto nodded and smirked back at Hashirama.

"Yep. Welcome to Team Ashura" Naruto said jokingly as he gave Hashirama a bright smile and a thumbs up. Hashirama thought for a moment before returning the smile and thumbs up.

' _ **Ashura incarnates are so idiotic'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he rolled his eyes at the display.

"Right. I think it's time for us to go put Madara in his place" Hashirama said, but Hiruzen spoke up.

"Wait there's still so much I'm confused about. Even though all of this is supposedly true, how did Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun find out about all of this?" Hiruzen asked.

That was a great question and it now had everyone looking at the two teenagers for an explanation. Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but Sasuke saw this coming and quickly covered his mouth. He wasn't sure about telling them the real reason why so he racked his brain for a reasonable explanation.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you viewed the situation, the building began to shake and screams of terror could be heard coming from the Village. The Kage were instantly on guard and focused on protecting the Village.

"We'll continue this conversation later, but for now we have to defend our Village. Lets go" Hashirama ordered, and no one disagreed.

They all ran out of the room and headed towards the Village to face the ultimate threat besides Madara himself. The Akatsuki.

 **TBC**

 **One Eyed King Kaneki Uchiha- Sorry, I meant to have this up on Monday. I'll make up for my lateness by updating again on Friday or Saturday.**

 **Dominiknoxi- wow... thank you for the review. I really do appreciate it, but you didn't have to create an account to Thank me! I'm a big SasuHina fan too, and I enjoy writing about the couple. I was only going to write this one, but you've just inspired me to write more when this one is over so Thank You!**

 **Nevvy- Thank you for the review. There will surely be some similarities with the show but I hope the twists and changes that I have planned entertains you.**

 **Silviaw- Preach!**

 **Jiang-sama- I promise you'll see how Kisame handles things next chapter. And yeah you bring up a good point, it is 3 vs 1 in terms of Uchiha, but the problem is the 1 is Madara.**

 **That one Kitsune- that's actually a great idea that I hadn't thought of. Thank you for this review. Idk if I'll use your idea yet, but if I do then I'll definitely be giving you all the credit.**

 **TheDeadGirlRisen- Kabuto didn't go to Konoha. Nagato, Konan, Kakazu, Hidan and Kisame went, sorry for any confusion. And I hope the fight scene lives up to your expectations.**

 **MorpheustheDream- yep. I just hope that it'll be entertaining.**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you!**

 **The Unkown Uchia- I sent you the answer in your PM.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I personally always though that he didn't get the use of his arms back until he undid the reaper seal because I can remember how satisfied his face was when he was finished but I could be wrong. And I hope you enjoyed the scenes with the past Kage. And yeah it's gonna b interesting to see how Kakashi and Obito respond to Edo Minato. Especially Obito.**

 **Thank you for all the feedback and support on the story. I hope that you all continue to enjoy it. Please Read and Review! - Dishon 3**


	33. Akatsuki Attack

**Chapter 33**

Itachi and Obito were the first shinobi to arrive at the scene of the explosion and were shocked to see the remaining members of the Akatsuki looking back at them. Nagato still had his hand extended signifying that he was the one who destroyed the building. When the Akatsuki members noticed Itachi their eyes widened.

"Is that that bitch Itachi? I thought that he got his ass killed by one of the Jinchuuriki a few months back. What the fuck is he doing here in Konoha?" Hidan asked. Kakazu groaned at his partner's ignorance.

"Isn't it obvious you buffoon? He faked his death and left the Akatsuki. I don't know how he managed to have his Village forgive him for his crimes though. I'm surprised that he isn't dead or in jail by now, but I'm even more surprised that there seems to be another Uchiha with him. He doesn't look younger, so he can't be his little brother" Kakazu observed, looking at Obito with a frown on his face.

"Yes this is a peculiar situation that situation they we find ourselves in. Tell me Kisame, did you know about Itachi's betrayal?" Konan asked. She wasn't pleased that she was being controlled, but she also didn't like the fact that Itachi had abandoned the Akatsuki either. It seemed to Konan that the Uchiha were natural deceivers.

Itachi and Kisame made eye contact for a moment, and that was all Itachi needed to understand Kisame's allegiance. Kisame smirked at Konan before shrugging.

"Stay close to me" Itachi said low enough so that only Obito could hear him. Obito didn't show any signs that he heard Itachi, but Itachi saw him move slightly closer to him.

Seeing that the man had moved closer to Itachi, Kisame began gathering his chakra.

"I would answer that question with words, but I think it'd be much more fun to show you" Kisame said.

The rest of the Akatsuki members looked at Kisame in suspicion for a moment before their eyes widened and they were instantly on the defensive when they noticed Kisame rapidly forming hand seals.

" **WATER STYLE: SHARK BOMB JUTSU"** Kisame yelled as a large amount of shark filled water filled the area. Konan managed to create wings just in time and fly up into the air, but the other Akatsuki members were swallowed by the water almost immediately. Itachi and Obito would've been swallowed as well if it wasn't for Itachi quickly activating his Mangekyou Sharingan.

" **SUSANNO"** Itachi said as a giant red entity formed itself around Itachi and shielded he and Obito from Kisame's dangerous water style technique. Sharks tried to bite at them, but the Susanno's armor was much too tough for their teeth to penetrate.

"I admit that was a good strategy, by you and Kisame. I'm impressed that you are able to manifest a perfect Susanno now, and it formed quickly. You've obviously had some practice with the technique" Obito said feeling some sort of familial pride towards Itachi. Itachi nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't perfect the Susanno until I received Sasuke's eyes and got my illness treated, but once I could, I realized how invaluable a technique like this could be for battle against powerful opponents. I've spent the past 2 years training to master the Susanno, and I'm glad I had the foresight to do that. It seems that we'll be able to take most of them out with minimal difficulty" Itachi said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, all the water and sharks were beginning to rapidly disappear. Moments later, all that was left of the powerful jutsu was the wet ground and Nagato's outstretched hand.

"Did he just absorb my Jutsu?" Kisame asked flabbergasted. He had never seen someone absorb a jutsu as powerful as that before, and if Kisame was being honest, it kind of scared him. Obito nodded grimly.

"Yeah he did, unfortunately it's one of the many abilities of the Rinnegan. Nagato has the power of all of the Paths of Pein with none of their weaknesses. He's going to be a tough one to defeat" Obito said while activating his own Mangekyou as he assessed the rest of the Akatsuki members.

He noticed that Hidan had several shark bites, and some even looked like they could potentially be fatal, but the immortal man's wounds were already healing as he stretched and unsheathed his scythe.

He then looked at Kakazu who didn't seem to have any injuries, but he removed his cloak revealing his stitched together body parts.

Lastly he turned to Konan who was unscathed, and watched as she landed next to Nagato who was in the middle of weaving hand signs. Obito's eyes widened, but before he could blink Nagato had summoned 3 animals all with their own pair of Rinnegan.

"Welp things just got increasingly more interesting, and even more deadly" Kisame said. Looking at the other Akatsuki members and Nagato's summons.

"What's the matter Kisame? Are you regretting the side that you chose?" Itachi asked from inside the Susanno. Kisame let out a smirk at his friends words.

"Hell no. I've always had a thing for the underdog" Kisame said as he unsheathed Samehada and pointed it at Hidan.

"You're the first one I'm going to kill" Kisame said smirking at Hidan who returned the smirk.

"For once we agree on something you Fish Fuck.I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart" Hidan said charging at Kisame who looked ready to counter, but he never reached him.

" **DYNAMIC ENTRY"**

Hidan was kicked in the face hard, and it sent him flying back into Kakazu who grunted and smacked Hidan down onto the ground. Hidan ignored Kakazu's rough treatment and groaned in pain as he looked at the man who kicked him.

"Okay, who the fuck are you?" Hidan growled as he got back to his feet.

"The Handsome Blue Beast of the Leaf Might Gai. By the way, the use of such language isn't very youthful" Gai said getting in his stance. He looked back to the others.

"You alright Itachi?" Gai asked noticing the giant red entity surrounding him. He also noticed someone inside the entity with Itachi who looked unbearably familiar to him for some reason, but Gai couldn't quite remember his name.

Obito noticed that Gai had been staring at him with a blank expression, and rolled his eyes. He had forgotten that Gai was horrible with recognizing people and he could see the bushy browed shinobi struggling to remember who he was.

"We'll discuss later. We don't have time for you to try to remember me" Obito said glaring at Gai.

At that moment a thick mist began to surround the area. Kisame eyes widened in surprise for a moment but then he smirked, knowing who was responsible for the Jutsu.

A moment later, a loud cutting sound was heard accompanied by a shout of pain from Kakazu. The mist cleared revealing Zabuza, Haku and Team Taka. Zabuza had one of Kakazu's hearts in his hand and a smirk on his face.

"And thats how it's done brat" Zabuza said to the obviously impressed Suigetsu before he crushed the heart he held in his hand making Kakazu drop to a knee. Zabuza noticed that and looked at Kakazu in confusion. Suigetsu was confused as well and kind of weirded out so he voiced his discomfort.

"Um okay I just saw you cut his heart out and squish it, so why isn't he dead?" Suigetsu asked.

"He has multiple hearts brat. We've got to deal with 4 more of them before he stays dead" Kisame said.

Zabuza and Suigetsu both looked at him in surprise before they nodded. Suigestu was inwardly very excited. It was the first time that he had been around two members of the 7 Ninja Swordsman of the Mist since he was a child, but more importantly, he was now close to 2 of the Legendary Swords. Zabuza had been training him on using the Executioner's blade and he was already planning on bugging Kisame until he let him use Samehada.

His thought process was interrupted by a scythe cutting through his skin making it liquify, before Haku kicked Hidan away, allowing Suigestu's face to reform before scolding him.

"Pay Attention you idiot. I won't save you again" Haku warned as she stared at the Akatsuki members who had decided to attack before more Shinobi could show up, but they were far too late as doznes of shinobi arrived at once including some previously deceased Kage. This situation just become much more dire for the Akatsuki.

XxXxXx

"Kisame has betrayed us, The Leaf's forces vastly outnumber our own, and have surrounded us. I can also see through Konan's eyes that they have even resurrected the previous Kage including the First Hokage himself... How do you want to handle the situation?" Kabuto asked with a confused expression on his face.

He wasn't confused about how the battle was turning out, he'd expected a quick response from the Leaf. He was confused about who know the Edo Tensei technique well enough to resurrect the previous Hokages.

' _ **I thought that only Orochimaru-sama and I knew about the Reanimation Jutsu, but Orochimaru-sama is dead, so who could've done it? Is it possible that Orochimaru-sama taught the technique to Sasuke as well? Yes, that has to be it'**_ Kabuto thought to himself, but he was brought out of his musings by Madara.

"Yes I anticipated as much when I ordered them to attack, though them resurrecting previous Hokage is an unexpected twist. If Hashirama is among them then the Akatsuki will ultimately lose the battle, but the goal is to acquire the Jinchuuriki, so we just need to distract the others until we achieve that goal. Then order Nagato to retreat with the Jinchuuriki. By the time they realize that the Jinchuuriki is missing, it'll be far to late" Madara said.

Kabuto couldn't help but agree with Madara's assessment of the situation. He was definitely a great strategist, but there was still a flaw in his plan that Kabuto was almost hesitant to point out for self preservation purposes. However, he still did because he couldn't resist the opportunity.

"I agree, but how can we distract the others if there are just 4 of them there. They will be over powered effortlessly" Kabuto said.

"I've planned for that. I just ordered Zetsu to send some White Zetsu over there and I remember you telling me that you got DNA from the powerful dead shinobi in Konoha too right?" Madara asked.

At Kabuto's nod, Madara continued to speak. Kabuto's eyes widened in horror of what the man was saying but he couldn't bring himself to refuse any of the man's orders. Madara Uchiha may have been extremely powerful and smart, but Kabuto couldn't but think that he was twisted man. Even by his standards.

When Madara finished speaking, Kabuto was still in shock at what the man had ordered him to do. Seeing that Kabuto hadn't moved, Madara began to grow impatient.

"Well what are you waiting for. Hurry up and do what I said before our forces are overwhelmed by Hashirama and the rest of Konoha's shinobi" Madara growled snapping Kabuto out of his trance.

He quickly did as he was told with a small amount of pity in his eyes for what the Konoha shinobi were about to go through.

Madara smirked in self satisfaction when Kabuto told him that he was done. He was 100% sure that this plan would work effortlessly.

' _ **Let's see how you're precious Konoha handles this type of attack Hashirama'**_ Madara thought to himself smugly.

XxXxXx

When Hashirama and the other Hokage arrived on the battlefield, all of the Konoha shinobi's eyes widened with hope and awe, while Kakazu's eyes widened in fear at the sight of Hashirama.

Anbu surrounded the Akatsuki making them unable to move. With the threat momentarily neutralized everyone was taking a moment to convene with one another.

Tsunade walked up him and Tobirama with tears in her eyes. She hadn't expected to see her Grandfather and Great Uncle when she arrived on the battlefield, so to say she was shocked would be an understatement.

"Grandfather? Uncle Tobirama? What are you doing here? How is this even possible?" Tsuande asked when she stopped in front of the two Senju males.

"Tsnua? You've gotten so big! And I've heard that you've become the Hokage... I hope you're taking your responsibilities seriously" Hashirama said with his eyes widening at the sight of his Granddaughter's adult form before his eyes widened.

"Wait a second... shouldn't you look older?" Hashirama asked making Tsunade blush in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Focus elder brother. Tsunade asked you a question and since she is Hokage now, you are obligated by law to answer her" Tobirama said, though he secretly agreed with his brother's assessment. Little Tsuande looked like she was still in her prime when realistically she should be around 54 or 55 by now.

"Oh right, Your friend Orochimaru used his 'Reanimation Jutsu' to bring us back to life to help deal with the people threatening the Village and the rest of the shinobi world" Hashirama said choosing to keep the information about Madara to himself.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the stripling is an impressive shinobi since he was able to master my Jutsu to such a degree" Tobirama muttered.

Tsunade looked at Orochimaru, who was looking at Itachi's Susanno with unrestrained interest, and felt grateful that he was back on the side of Konoha. Orochimaru noticed Tsunade's eyes on him and gave her a nod before going to stand next to Team Taka who looked more than a little surprised by his presence there.

"Orochimaru-sama? How did you get here? I thought you died when the Sound Village was destroyed" Suigetsu said looking at Orochimaru as if he was a ghost. Karin smacked the back of Suigetsu's head making the sword lover flinch.

"You idiot. Of course Orochimaru-sama survived the attack. You know as well as I do that he's almost impossible to kill with all his freaky Jutsu" Karin said scolding Suigetsu and making Orochimaru smirk.

"It's nice to see you here and alive. You are on the side of Konoha correct?" Juugo asked. The Snake Sannin nodded at the large man before addressing all of them.

"A lot has happened since the last time we've seen each other, and my ambitions have been altered slightly. For now I want you to spend your time and energy on Sasuke's goal and making sure he lives long enough to reach it. Any problems with that?" Orochimaru asked.

"Of Course not. I act as Sasuke's shield because he is Kimmimaro's legacy" Juugo said.

"I'll heal Sasuke whenever he's injured, if Hinata lets me of course" Karin said grumbling to herself.

"That's basically what we've been doing this whole time anyway. You don't have to tell us to do that" Suigestu said waving his hand dismissively.

Sasuke saw their reunion, and had to admit that he was kind of curious about the subject of their conversation but he was more interested in Itachi's Susanno. He didn't know that his brother had the Perfect Susanno as well, but he was glad that he did. It would make it easier for them to deal with Madara's Perfect Susanno. He wasn't the only one impressed either.

"WOAH ITACHI THAT LOOKS AWESOME" Naruto said loudly. Neji, Kakashi and Sakura, who had all just arrived, were nodding in agreement. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's words before addressing his brother.

"I admit that it is Impressive, and interesting that yours is Red but you should probably save that for when we'll actually need it. We both know that the Perfect Susanno takes a substantial amount of chakra to maintain and you've never had the best chakra reserves" Sasuke said.

Itachi and Naruto looked at Sasuke in mild surprise. The fact that he said the word 'yours' implied that he had one of his own. If that was the case than, Sasuke was even more powerful than they originally thought. Itachi had to admit that Sasuke had a point though. The Perfect Susanno did take a decent amount of Chakra to maintain so it would be wiser to save it for a situation that really required it.

"Maybe your not as foolish as I once thought Sasuke" Itachi said with a smile as dispelled his Susanno.

Kakashi went to stand next to Obito and Gai. Gai was giving Obito a contemplative look, obviously trying to remember his name, and Obito was looking at Gai with obvious annoyance. They both looked up when they noticed that Kakashi had come to stand by them.

"Did you know that they were planning an attack on the Village?" Kakashi asked his former teammate. Obito shook his head showing that he didn't. He was about to ask Kakashi about where he's been, and why he didn't arrive earlier but Gai cut him off.

"Kakashi, you know this guy? He seems very familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen him before" Gai said. Obito looked at Gai in annoyance and Kakashi smirked underneath his mask.

"He's the same guy you beat in the Chunin Exams" Kakashi said causing Obito to gasp in surprise and glare at him.

Gai didn't notice this because he was too busy trying to remember his Chunin Exam opponent. The only one that came to mind was Obito Uchiha, but that didn't make sense because he'd been dead for years. Gai took another look at the man who was glaring at Kakashi, and noticed that he had Sharingan eyes. Gai's eyes widened in surprise when he finally knew who the man was.

"Obito Uchiha!? Is that really you? Where have you been all this time and why is your face so scarred?" Gai asked loudly. Obito sent one last glare at Kakashi before addressing the spandex lover.

"This is neither the time or place to be talking about such things. I'll be sure to answer any questions you may have after this attack is over and we've insured that the Village is safe" Obito said.

He honestly had no plans to do that. His past whereabouts and past actions were none of Gai's business so he didn't fell the need to explain himself to the other man. Obito felt the air shift slightly next to him, and his body stiffened at the presence he felt. The person put his hand on Obito's shoulder before speaking.

"I'm glad that you said that Obito because we have quite a bit to discuss. The Kyuubi told me quite the interesting story about who was controlling him the day of the attack. I'd like to know where you've been because I thought you died before I did"

Obito turned his head to side to see his former sensei looking at him with a serious expression on his face. Obito swallowed nervously, he had learned as a pre-teen that Minato rarely ever got serious but when he did, it was best to do as he said.

"After this is over, we'll talk..." Obito promised grumbling to himself as he looked at Kakashi's face. "...And Kakashi will be there too" Obito finished surprising the masked nin.

"As I much as I remember loving when Minato-sensei scolded you; I don't want to be there to witness that scolding" Kakashi said.

Minato thought for a moment before turning to Kakashi.

"I still want you to be there. Naruto told me that you were his sensei before Jiraiya-sensei started training him, so I want to ask you a few questions about how that went. I'm hoping that he took more personality from you then him. Kushina would kill me again if she found out Naruto was a pervert" Minato said with a nervous smile on his face.

Kakashi was more than happy to get the fact that he was addicted to the 'Icha Icha Paradise' series that Jiraiya authored a secret from his sensei.

Everyone continued to talk amongst themselves and soon Hana, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata arrived on the battlefield. Hana had met Team 8 at the gate, and told them the situation, so Kiba ordered Akamaru to escort Kurenai and Kuri to the evacuation site in Hokage Mountain before they all rushed to the site.

When they arrived, Hana and Hinata spotted Itachi and Sasuke instantly. The Uchiha brothers looked up in surprise at their girlfriends arrival on the battlefield, before twin frowns adorned their faces. They were happy to see them, but they would've preferred if they stayed away from the danger instead of running towards it. That's what they get for dating shinobi.

"Sasuke are you okay?" Hinata asked as she used her Byakugan to view his chakra pathways to make sure nothing was wrong. Sasuke blushed slightly at Hinata's display much to the amusement of Itachi who was currently under the scrutiny of Hana.

"I'm fine. I haven't fought yet, I just got here a few minutes ago. We've got the enemy surrounded and they just seem to have given up. They're just standing there still, so I don't think there's much to be concerned about at the moment. Glad that you made it back from your mission safely" Sasuke said trying to get the attention off of him.

Hinata opened her mouth to respond when she froze at what her Byakugan picked up. She wasn't the only one who noticed the disturbance as all of the top level shinobi felt the change in the air.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH"**

Sasuke and Itachi quickly summoned their Susanno's to shield Hinata and Hana. Seeing this, Neji, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Orochimaru and Team Taka all ran behind the Susanno's. Naruto went into his Bijuu mode and grabbed Haku, and Zabuza to protect them from the overwhelming chakra he was feeling. Obito grabbed Kakashi and used Kamui to escape to another dimension. Minato entered his Bijuu mode and grabbed Gai before teleporting over to Jiraiya to protect them. Hashirama pushed Tsunade behind him and Tobirama before creating a wall of wood.

The rest of the shinobi in the area were blown away by the force of the attack that destroyed most of the surronding area. When smoke cleared, they were shocked to see about a dozen White Zetsu coming out of the ground.

White Zetsu were weak and they still outnumbered them so that didn't really bother anyone, but they were petrified when Konan and Nagato did the hand signs only known to Kabuto and Orochimaru. They then summoned more than a hundred of Konoha's past shinobi.

Normally that would've been bad enough, but everyone saw a familiar face that made them hesitate. Hidan smirked at the fearful looks the Konoha shinobi were giving were giving the resurrected shinobi.

"Y'all done fucked up now. Should've just let us get the Jinchuuriki" Hidan said laughing at their faces.

For a split second, Sasuke almost agreed with Hidan as he and Itachi deactivated their Susanno's. Some of the shinobi that were resurrected would be almost impossible for him to defeat. He couldn't even move at the moment because of a face that looked so much like his own staring back at him in confusion. A face that he thought he'd never see again aside from pictures.

' _ **No i-it can't be. They weren't there last time, why is this happening'**_ Sasuke thought frantically until one of the figures spoke.

"Sasuke? You've gotten so big! I miss you son"

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Itachi both felt tears start to sting the corners of their eyes as Mikoto and Fugaku stood amongst the resurrected shinobi, but they managed to stay somewhat composed until they realized that they weren't the only Uchiha there.

All of the Uchiha shinobi that Itachi had killed were standing in the midst of the mini army that was summoned, even Izumi Uchiha. A lot the Uchiha were yelling curses adn sending angry glares at Itachi, but he just locked eyes with Izumi and felt more tears build up as his stoic appearance started to crack.

"Hello my love. It's unfortunate that we have to meet again under these unfortunate circumstances. I've been watching you the whole time, and it saddened me to see you carrying that burden all alone" Izumi said.

Itachi couldn't speak to respond to his first love. He couldn't even force himself to blink as he stared as her resurrected form, but luckily (or unluckily), Hana decided to speak up.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore Izumi. He's not alone anymore, so you can take your compassion somewhere else" Hana growled standing protectively between Izumi and Itachi.

Fugaku and Mikoto raised their eyebrows at her words, but they stayed quiet and watched Izumi's expression turn serious.

"Is that so? Well we'll see how true your words are. If you can defeat me, then I'll leave Itachi to you, but if you can't then you will die" Izumi said as she activated her Sharingan.

Kiba walked towards Izumi determined to give her a piece of his mind, but a glare from Hana made Kiba turn right back around with a whimper.

"Sounds fine to me Izumi" Hana said with a fanged smirk.

Mikoto chuckled to herself as she looked at the two woman who held her eldest's heart. Ignoring the fierce glare between the women, she turned to Sasuke.

"So Sasuke do you have someone that you're interested in" Mikoto asked with a mischievous smile.

Sasuke was still frozen in the place at the sight of his mom, but Hinata stepped forward and introduced herself to his parents.

"My n-name i-is Hinata H-H-Hyuuga and I a-am S-Sasuke's f-fiancé" Hinata stuttered. She had gotten over stuttering, but she blamed it on the face that she was meeting Sasuke's parents for the first time.

"Really? You've become betrothed to Hiashi's eldest? Seems like we didn't even need to propose a marriage contract since destiny was just going to pair you two up anyway" Fugaku mumbled to himself as he glared at Sasuke, who snapped out of his trance to glare back at his father.

"Oh Hush Fugaku, I like her. It's nice to know that Sasuke has someone to take care of him when I can no longer do so" Mikoto said with a smile that Hinata returned.

"Your approval means a lot to me Mikoto-san" Hinata said with a slight bow.

Then she, and the rest of the Uchiha stiffened as they felt their free will being taken from them. Everyone of them activated their Sharingan, but Fugaku. He activated his Mangekyou surprising Sasuke.

"Well it seems as though we have to fight you now. Don't hold back because if you do I will kill you. Send us back to the afterlife so that we can be at peace" Fugaku told his sons.

Sasuke and Itachi nodded and braced themselves to face their father, as most of the other shinobi in the area, except for a select few squared off with the Uchiha Clan shinobi.

XxXxXx

When Kakashi and Obito returned from their Kamui dimension, they were shocked to see that the Uchiha Clan had been resurrected, but that wasn't their problem as two figures approached them. Obito and Kakashi's eyes widened at the first one they noticed.

"You two have gotten so tall" she said with a smile.

"RIN!?" They both said in surprise.

"It sucks that we're meeting like this, and I can even see Minato-sensei over there, but unfortunately we won't be able to catch up properly. I can feel the person controlling me forcing me to attack. Please stop me quickly, and don't hold back" Rin said taking out a Kunai.

Kakashi had tears in the corner of his eyes, and Obito looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown before he frowned and addressed his best friend.

"Let's take her down quickly Kakashi. It's what she wants us to do" Obito said with shaky resolved as he stared at Rin, who had a sad smile on her face. Obito needed Kakashi's help because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take Rin down on his own. He'd surely hesitate and that might cost him.

Kakashi nodded, knowing what his friend was thinking, and was about to charge at Rin, when a lighting coated kunai grazed his cheek forcing him to stop. He looked in the direction of the attack and froze when he saw the last person he wanted to see.

"You should probably let your friend handle the girl. I believe you'll have your hands full with me, and we have much to discuss" Sakumo Hatake said and didn't give Kakashi anytime to recover as he attacked.

XxXxXx

Naruto and Minato were in their Bijuu forms staring at Kushina Uzumaki who looked more than a little pissed that she was being controlled by someone who was trying to order her to attack her husband and child.

"I don't know whats going on, but I'm not attacking my family" Kushina said stubbornly trying to resist the control Kabuto had over her. Minato and Naruto watched her closely not knowing if she was succeeding or not, but Naruto took this time to talk to his mother again.

"Mom you're incredible being able to fight mind control like that. I see that Sasuke's parents have already attack him and Itachi. You amaze me every time I see you" Naruto praised with a bright smile.

Kushina would've returned the smile if she was able to, but she was focused on trying to fight the urge to attack. This ultimately proved futile as chains surrounded her body. Kushina looked at them apologetically as Minato sweat dropped and grabbed Naruto before taking slow steps away from his wife.

"I'm sorry, please try to dodge this and finish me off quickly ya know. I promise I won't hold on a grudge on you for defeating me" Kushina told Minato. He nodded at his wife and took out a Kunai only to have it smacked away from him by Kushina's chains.

' _ **This will be tough'**_ Naruto thought as he avoided the chains protruding from his mom.

Now that the numbers were fairly even, the fighting turned brutal. Neither side was letting up, and when Kabuto relayed this information to Madara, he let out a sadistic smirk.

' _ **Let the games begin'**_ he thought to himself as he let out a satisfied grunt.

Kabuto was really starting to question what he would do, but one thing was for sure. He wouldn't be turning against Madara. He was far too scared of the other man.

 **TBC**

 **The Fakhouri Legacy- Thank you! I'm glad you think so.**

 **Neverkarma- I'm glad you like the way I'm writing it. I really appreciate the support.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- That was my first impression of Tobirama too lmao.**

 **The unkown Uchia- I think so too. When he was revived he was such an ass.**

 **Duskest- Eventually, It'll take a little bit of time though so please bare with me. And I hope you liked this chapter.**

 **Blackcurse01- Is that good or bad?**

 **One Eyed King Kaneki Uchiha- Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I made Kisame's allegiance pretty clear, and he'll have more fighting scenes in the next chapter.**

 **SoSlimShady- Yeah he's pretty dense, but still cool and strong.**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- No you don't have to apologize. I agree with your entire rant. I hated Tobirama for the longest time after his introduction and I actually cheered when Madara violated him, but I can kinda see his points. A little bit.**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you. I hope you like this chapter as well.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you again for telling me! Hope this chapter is mistake free lol.**

 **I know I said I would update Friday or Saturday, but I had more plans than I anticipated. I hope Sunday was good enough for everyone. Please Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	34. Family Feud

**Chapter 34**

Kunai and Jutsu were flying everywhere as Konoha's forces fought against the Akatsuki, White Zetsu's and resurrected Shinobi from Konoha's past.

Many shinobi had separated into to groups and were involved in their own fights all over the Village. This was the case with Kakashi.

He had fled the scene where the shinobi were summoned and led his resurrected father to a more private location so that he could dispose of him without anyone else interfering with their fight. When he decided that they were far enough away from the others, Kakashi turned towards his father and glared at him.

Sakumo stopped and stood a few feet away from his son holding a short sword coated with lightning in each hand as he returned his son's glare, but his eyes widened slightly when Kakashi removed his forehead protector to reveal a Sharingan, but the pattern looked different than the ones he'd seen during his life time.

"When did you get a Sharingan Kakashi? Don't tell me that you were involved in the deaths of all the Uchiha that I saw when I was first resurrected just to get a Dojutsu, and why does the pattern look different?" Sakumo asked while charging at Kakashi.

Kakashi dodged the first slash of Sakumo's short sword with ease, but that was part of Sakumo's strategy as he twisted in midair and aimed his second attack towards Kakashi's shoulder, but Sakumo didn't anticipate Kakashi reading through his attack and blocking it with a Kunai that he had coated in lightning.

"I had nothing to do with that. I received my Sharingan as a gift from my dying friend long before the Uchiha Clan was massacred. Also, the pattern is different because this is not a ordinary Sharingan. This is the Mangekyou" Kakashi replied surprising Sakumo as he tried to get the upper hand.

Unfortunately, Sakumo had the edge in raw strength and overpowered Kakashi. He moved to the side, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed in the shoulder by Sakumo's sword. He was given no time to relax as Sakumo was behind him before he could blink, already aiming another attack at his neck.

Kakashi looked back to see that his father's sword was only inches away from his neck and realized that he wouldn't be able to dodge it without taking damage from the attack, so he changed tactics.

" **KAMUI"** Kakashi said as he focused on the outstretched arm of his father.

Sakumo blinked in surprise as his arm was forcibly ripped from his body and sucked into an unknown void, but he didn't have time to ponder over what had happened because Kakashi then hit him with fierce roundhouse kick that knocked him back a few feet.

"It seems that you've acquired a great mastery over your friend's Sharingan. That's good because you'll need every once of power that you have if you intend to take me down alone Kakashi" Sakumo said as he got into his stance, with his arm growing back.

Kakashi was surprised by this, so he decided to change his approach to the battle in a way that he thought would guarantee his win. He would use Kamui to take his father's head off but before he did that, he wanted to inform him of a few things.

"I know that it would seem that I'm alone, but I'm not. I have people precious to me that I live to fight for and protect. They're always with me cheering me on and giving me strength, so I will defeat you for their sakes" Kakashi said.

Sakumo raised his eyebrow and used every once of his willpower to prevent himself from attacking Kakashi. He was curious to hear more.

"Please inform me of how much these people mean to you. I hope you know that you can't put them in front of your mission no matter what. You know as well as I do that those who disobey the rules are scum and it's because of my actions that I fell into a deep depression and took myself away from the world. Its because of my actions that you probably hold a deep hatred for me" Sakumo said.

Kakashi flinched at the words and thought back to how bitter he was after his father's self inflicted death and how he had resolved himself to never make the same mistake that his father did, and prioritize the mission over everything else while never breaking the rules. That's how he tried to live until Obito's 'death'. Before Obito left to try to save Rin from the Stone Shinobi, he had punched him in the face and told him how it was true that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse scum.

After those words, he finally realized his father's reasoning behind abandoning his mission and saving his comrades lives. Even though Sakumo was ridiculed and shunned by the Village at the time, and Kakashi used to be ashamed of his father; Kakashi now thought that Sakumo was a hero and was proud to be his son.

"It is true that those who disobey the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse scum" Kakashi said.

Sakumo's eyes widened as he felt his skin crack, but this time it didn't reform. Kakashi didn't notice this and continued talking.

"I understand now why you saved your teammates and didn't want to risk their safety by continuing the mission. I don't hate you, and I'm more upset at the Village for the way they treated you after your heroic actions, then I am at you for killing yourself. I look up to you, and respect you even more now. I forgive you" Kakashi said. Sakumo's body cracked more and more at Kakashi's words. He had cracked so much that Kakashi was starting to notice.

"What's happening to you?" Kakashi asked as pieces of Sakumo's skin began to disappear and he noticed that they weren't reforming.

Sakumo ignored Kakashi's question and dropped his weapons as he took slow steps towards his son.

"I've felt nothing but regret over my actions ever since I've died and I've denied myself the ability to move on the next world to see your mother all because I wanted your forgiveness over what I did" Sakumo said as he reached Kakashi and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Kakashi felt emotion swell up in his chest as his father looked at him with a look filled with love and pride. Sakumo smiled down at Kakashi as he continued talking.

"You've finally granted me the forgiveness and understanding that I've so desperately wanted for so long. Thank you Kakashi" Sakumo said as his skin cracked more and more.

Kakashi could tell by now that his father's soul was about to leave the vessel used to contain it, so he quickly spoke before it could.

"You're a grandfather now. My girlfriend is pregnant with a son, and I hope that I can raise him to be half of the shinobi and man that you were" Kakashi said.

Sakumo looked at Kakashi in surprise before he smiled and chuckled to himself.

"With you as his father, I'm sure he'll be an even better man than I ever was. Goodbye my son. Your mother and I will be watching you as you continue to make us proud" Sakumo said as his soul completely left the vessel and moved on into the next world.

Kakashi stared down at the dead body of a random stone shinobi that had been used to contain his father's soul. A tear slipped down his cheek, as he deactivated his Mangekyou and placed his forehead protector over his Sharingan eye.

' _ **Thank you father'**_ Kakashi thought as he looked up to the sky for a moment, before he ran towards the sound of Obito and Rin's fight, determined to defeat the enemy and protect the Village.

XxXxXx

Obito was having problems putting any real strength behind his attacks as he fought Rin, while Rin was hitting him full force with her attacks.

' _ **Come on Obito get a hold of yourself. I have to defeat her quickly or she'll destroy me'**_ Obito thought to himself as he dodged a hit from Rin and countered with hard hook to her chin, leaving a giant bruise on her cheek.

Obito froze at the bruise he left on her cheek, and instantly felt regret for laying his hands on Rin.

"OBITO MOVE!" Rin screamed, but Obito didn't move and was stabbed in the stomach by Rin's Kunai. Obito's eyes widened at the pain and he coughed up blood as he looked at Rin's tearful expression.

"Why didn't you dodge that you idiot? Why won't you kill me?" Rin asked.

"I'm sorry Rin. I just can't hurt you" Obito said as he used Kamui to make Rin go through his body.

He held his stomach in pain. The wound was shallow, but he could definitely feel the blood leaking from his stomach. It was only a matter of time before the Hashirama cells inside of his body would heal him completely, but he knew that if he wasn't careful, then Rin would kill him.

He was brought out of his musings by the distinct sound of chirping birds filling the area. Both Rin and Obito knew what that sound meant, as Rin turned around in time for Kakashi to slam his Chidori into her chest at full speed.

Rin coughed up blood as she looked at Kakashi in surprise before she let out a smile. Kakashi had tears in his eyes at the familiar scene, but he had no time to allow his emotions to get the best of him. He had already seen that this jutsu allows the person to regenerate from their injuries.

"Obito, she's going to regenerate from this soon, so I need you to stop her movements quickly" Kakashi said to his friend, who was staring at Kakashi's arm piercing through Rin's body.

"I-I can't" Obito said. He was petrified by the familiar scene, and the thought of hurting Rin still sent chills down his spine.

"How can you call yourself her friend if you can't do as she asks you? Can't you see she's suffering because she's being forced to attack the people she cares about?" Kakashi asked.

Obito processed Kakashi's words and knew that he was right, but he just couldn't bring himself to hurt her, even if she was asking him to.

"Obito... Please" Rin said with tears rolling down her face, as she began to try to attack Kakashi who forced more chakra into his Chidori to stop her.

Obito looked at both of them conflicted. Kakashi and Rin both wanted him to attack her, but it was much easier said then done. How was he supposed to attack the woman that he loved when its his last memory of her is her dead body in his arms? He was deep on thought about what to do but he was snapped out of it by the combined efforts of his former teammates.

"OBITO DO IT!" Kakashi and Rin said simultaneously.

Obito yelled in anguish before he sent a few sharp wood rods towards Rin and Kakashi. Kakashi quickly removed his arm from Rin's chest and dodged just in time as the wood came and pierced through Rin and pinned her body to the ground.

Obito and Kakashi both stared down at Rin's immobile body with pained expressions on both of their faces. Rin smiled at them.

"Thank you and nice teamwork. I always thought that you guys were unstoppable when you put your differences aside and worked as a team. I'll be watching you two from the other side, so you better be the best of friends or we'll have problems" Rin said as her skin began to crack.

Seeing this Obito panicked and turned to Kakashi.

"What's happening to her?" Obito asked.

"Her soul is returning to the other world now. I just saw my father do it not too long ago, so if you have anything to say that you didn't get off your chest when she was alive, now is your chance" Kakashi said while looking at Rin.

Obito looked at Rin for a moment before speaking.

"I miss you Rin. I'm sorry that I didn't go back to the Village immediately after recovering from my injuries, and I'm sorry that I didn't get to the battlefield in time to help Kakashi save you. I've been so conflicted without you here, and I've done some terrible things to try to get you back. Things that I knew that you wouldn't have approved of. I just hope that you can forgive me and understand that I did everything I did because of my love for you" Obito said.

" ***cough*** Obsession ***cough*** " Kakashi said, but Obito was too busy looking at Rin to glare at him for his comment, and Rin just chose to pretend like she didn't hear it.

Rin looked at Obito with tears in her eyes as her soul began to leave the body. She smiled one last time and spoke.

"I'll talk to you about this when you join me on the other side."

Those were her last words before her soul left the body completely and she was returned to the afterlife. Obito and Kakashi looked at the dead shinobi's corpse for a moment before Kakashi decided to try to relieve some of the stress and tension that filled the air.

"You know, she never made a comment about loving you back. I think she just rejected you man" Kakashi said teasingly while putting a comforting hand on Obito's shoulder, but he removed it when Obito gave him a fierce glare.

"If you keep teasing me like this then I will kill you" Obito said.

"Tsk, tsk. Rin would never approve of that kind of behavior. Besides she hated when we fought and she was right about us working well as a team. I think that we should continue to work as a team and take down these reanimated Shinobi" Kakashi said.

"Fine, but after this I'm going to punch you for your comments, and I'm expecting you to have my back when Minato-sensei scolds me later" Obito said causing Kakashi to sweat drop.

"Uhh I'll do anything else that you want. I was never fan of Minato-sensei's scoldings and I'd rather not have to be there for it" Kakashi said.

"Too bad. Rin said that she wanted us to be best friends again and that's what best friends do for each other. Now enough small talk, lets go help the others" Obito said running off in the direction of another fight.

Kakashi grumbled to himself before following Obito back into battle.

XxXxXx

Naruto and Minato jumped from tree to tree to avoid Kushina Uzumaki's chains. Minato had teleported them all to the Forest of Death to fight, so that no one else was hit by Kushina's chains, but this decision put he and Naruto at a slight disadvantage.

With Kushina focused exclusively on them, it was getting harder and harder to dodge the chains even with their insane speed. Minato inwardly smirked at this. There was a reason why she was his wife and it wasn't just for her good looks. She was a capable Jonin in her own right and she was feared within the Village when she got mad.

"Minato why aren't you ending this quickly? Hurry up and finish this" Kushina said irritably sending another attack at her husband.

"Its not that easy. Your chains are too unpredictable and if I teleport to the marking I left on you I'll surely get hit. Give me an opening that I can exploit and I'll end it" Minato replied as he continued dodging.

"I'm not controlling my body right now, so I can't purposefully give you an opening. You have to find one yourself" Kushina replied.

Minato was about respond when he heard his son's voice.

" **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU"** Naruto yelled he summoned around a thousand clones that surrounded his mother.

"Woah! That's impressive! I didn't know that you could make so many clones of yourself" Kushina said with tears stinging the corners of her eyes even as she attacked.

"Are you crying Kushina?" Minato asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Shut up Minato! Seeing that my baby has mastered such a high level Jutsu to this extent just makes me a very proud mother ya know?" Kushina said as her eyes shined with pride and love towards Naruto and his advancing clones.

Minato couldn't help but feel pride towards Naruto as well. He was only sixteen and he was already capable of creating at least a thousand clones and he established a good enough relationship with the Nine Tails to enter his Bijuu mode. Naruto truly was an amazing fighter.

"Here we come mom!" The Naruto's all said as multiple of them were dispersed by Kushina's chains. Others dodged and formed Rasengans in their hand as they charged her at all angles.

Kushina dispersed clone after clone, but she impressed by her son's tenacity. However, she was unaware that the real Naruto wasn't among the hoard of clones that were attacking her. Minato was aware of this and searched for Naruto's real body while eyeing Kushina for an opening to attack.

When Minato found Naruto's original body, he was shocked to see that his son had entered Sage Mode while he was still in his Bijuu Mode. Minato was so shocked that he didn't hear Naruto when he spoke.

"DAD!" Naruto said loudly to get his father's attention. Minato blinked once in recognition before responding.

"Sorry Naruto, I was just amazed by how far you've come. You're already much stronger than I was at that age" Minato said, making Naruto smile.

"Oh it's okay, I was just asking how we were supposed to defeat Mom if she has an immortal body that keeps regenerating" Naruto said.

"I have to seal her away, which would be easy if I can touch her, but her chains pose a problem. They'll hit me before I get close enough to seal her" Minato explained.

"Got you, so you just need a distraction then. I'm on it" Naruto said as he turned towards his mother.

"Sorry Mom, but Dad and I have to seal you now" Naruto said as he formed a massive Rasengan in his palm and joined the rest of his remaining clones.

Kushina looked in the air to see the Naruto's flying towards her with Rasengan's in their hands. She looked on as her chains blocked their attack, giving Minato the opening he needed to end it.

He quickly teleported in front of Kushina and placed the seal on her chest causing her chains to disperse. Kushina's eyes shined as she looked at Minato and Naruto who stood still in front of her.

"I'm so proud of you Naruto. I can tell that your a powerful shinobi and with the determination that you've inherited from me, you'll surely reach your goals. Quickly before I'm completely sealed tell me about your friends. I told you when you were a baby to make sure you made a lot of friends" Kushina said.

"Well I don't really have a lot of friends, but I have my girlfriend Haku, Gaara the Kazekage, I'm super close with Neji-Baka and Hinata from the Hyuuga clan, Sakura, Pervy Sage and Kaka-sensei are close to me too but my best friend is the Bastard Sasuke Uchiha. He's like a brother to me" Naruto said hurriedly listing the people that came to mind.

Kushina smiled at her son's words, especially at what he said about Sasuke Uchiha. She remembered when Mikoto showed Sasuke to her while she was pregnant with Naruto and her saying then that they would be the best of friends. A mother's instinct is never wrong.

"I'm glad to hear it. There's so much more that I want to know and talk to you about, but I'm sure Minato will let me know everything when he joins me after this war" Kushina said looking at Minato who nodded in agreement.

"I'll miss you mom" Naruto said.

"I'll miss you too Naruto. Make sure to brush your teeth everyday and shower. It's important for Ninja to have the proper hygiene" Kushina said as the seal completed and her soul was released.

Minato placed a hand on Naruto's head, before speaking.

"Lets go help the others dispose of the threat to the Village" Minato said. Naruto nodded, and Minato teleported them back to the Village.

XxXxXx

Hinata and Mikoto were exchanging blow after blow with neither of them gaining a clear upper hand in the fight, and they were both surprised by the other's strength and techniques.

Hinata didn't think that Sasuke's mother would be as strong as she was, but she was showing that her strength was at the very least on par with most Jonin. There were even times where Hinata had a hard time dodging an attack from the older woman. Unbeknownst to her, Mikoto was pleasantly surprised by Hinata's strength.

She had expected the Hyuuga Heiress to be strong, but Hinata shattered Mikoto's expectations. Her mastery of the Gentle Fist fighting style looked to be more fluent than most Hyuuga's that she'd seen in her lifetime.

"Your technique is nearly flawless and I can't see any openings in your defenses to land a clean attack. You would truly be worthy to lead the Hyuuga Clan one day if you weren't engaged with my son" Mikoto said while dodging a Gentle Fist.

"Thank you for your kind words Mikoto. I hope that I continue to progress so that Sasuke, Naruto and Neji don't leave me behind" Hinata responded with a determined expression on her face that Mikoto couldn't help but smile at.

"But be careful Hinata, and try not to let me get close, because if you do, not even the Hyuuga Clan 'Rotation' technique could save you from me" Mikoto said. Hinata nodded as she knocked her back.

Mikoto took out some shuriken and threw them at Hinata. While Hinata was focused on dodging the Shuriken, Mikoto took out a kunai and teleported behind her intending to attack. Fortunately, Hinata saw her with her Byakugan and dodged Mikoto's first swing, but she was starting to struggle as Mikoto started swinging faster and faster.

Hinata needed space and fast, but she knew that a normal Rotation was unlikely to work considering Mikoto's warning.

' _ **Looks like I'll have to try this technique out sooner than I anticipated'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she gathered her chakra and began to spin. Mikoto noticed this and took off in the full sprint going the opposite way of Hinata's spin.

"I thought I told you that it wouldn't work" Mikoto said continuing to run around Hinata's Rotation, but she was shocked when Hinata's spin sped up instead of slowing down. Mikoto's eyes widened when her Sharingan saw the technique Hinata was using, and she was too close to block the attack.

" **LIGHTNING ROTATION"** Hinata said as lightning chakra was emitting from her Rotation. She struck all of Mikoto's chakra points with lightning, completely shutting down her Chakra system.

When Hinata stopped spinning she noticed that Mikoto was on floor unable to move, but she had a small smile on her face.

"Ouch, That was an amazing technique Hinata. I'm sure that it would've killed me if I wasn't already dead" Mikoto said with a laugh, although she was in pain.

"Thank you, but my goal was to disable you. Do you think you can move?" Hinata asked why looking at Mikoto warily. She watched Mikoto try to move her body, but sighed in relief when she saw that she couldn't.

"Nope I'm stuck here. That was a strangely effective way to deal with someone who can't die, but are you capable of using a sealing Jutsu?. Better safe than sorry" Mikoto said and Hinata couldn't help but think about how much she sounded like a mother at that moment.

"No I don't have a sealing Jutsu, but I think I can keep you immobile" Hinata said as she walked towards Mikoto's paralyzed body and placed a hand on her shoulder before focusing. Hinata then pulled all of the remaining chakra out of Mikoto making the older woman feel weak, but she nodded in agreement at her methods.

"Smart. Now leave me and go take care of the rest of my clan. Don't worry, no other Uchiha that was resurrected is as strong as me besides Fugaku, and I have a feeling that Sasuke and Itachi will take care of him" Mikoto said.

Hinata nodded and went to do what she was told, as Mikoto watched on in pride.

"Sasuke has a great taste in women. I can't wait to watch them and my grandchildren when the time comes" Mikoto said while chuckling to herself.

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Itachi were having problems landing a hit on their father. Fugaku Uchiha was much stronger than either of them thought he was. They were standing side by side collecting their breath after they finally managed to get some space from him.

"He's pretty impressive. I knew that Father was a strong shinobi and the leader of the Police Force, but I never imagined that he'd have a Mangekyou Sharingan, and be a Taijustu expert like this" Sasuke said to Itachi who was next to him.

"I had never beaten father in a spar back then, but thats because I rarely ever saw him. I suspected that I could have defeated him if I really needed to... At least until he showed me his Mangekyou Sharingan and put me in a Genjutsu showing me how he could control the Nine Tails if he chose to. It's possible that he was stronger than me back then" Itachi said never looking at his brother.

Sasuke looked at Itachi in surprise, before he spoke the first thought that came to his mind.

"If that's true, then how did you plan on defeating Father if he had attacked you during the massacre?" Sasuke asked Itachi.

Before Itachi could respond, Fugaku's voice was heard

"Is this all the strength that my sons have?" Fugaku asked as he teleported in between Sasuke and Itachi.

They both reacted instantly as Sasuke sent a left hook towards his father's face and Itachi's right knee aimed for his stomach. Fugaku caught Sasuke's fist with his right hand while catching Itachi's knee with his left hand. Sasuke and Itachi both looked at him in shock for a moment before Fugaku tightened his grip on his sons and forced them to crash into each other.

Itachi recovered first and twisted his knee forcing Fugaku to release him, then he teleported behind him trying to attack from Fugaku's blind spot, but Fugaku quickly spun around and slammed Sasuke into Itachi again causing both brothers to fly back a few feet.

Sasuke and Itachi both groaned in pain as they got back to their feet. Their eyes widened as they saw their father weaving the hand signs for the first Jutsu that either of them learned.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Fugaku said.

Sasuke and Itachi eyed each other and nodded before weaving the same hand signs that their father had moments before.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Sasuke and Itachi said simultaneously as they sent the technique back at Fugaku.

The three fireballs clashed in the middle and the pressure from the clash blew away the weaker shinobi and nearby White Zetsu. Fugaku seemed to have the slight upper hand in the struggle despite it being two vs one, and Sasuke seemed to notice that, so he decided to do what Itachi did when they fought in his previous life. Sasuke's eyes bled as he added Amaterasu fire to his fireball attack.

Fugaku's eyes widened at Sasuke's technique and noticed that he was starting to lose the struggle. Itachi caught on to Sasuke's strategy and added his own Amaterasu to the fire battle. Fugaku was overwhelmed quickly, but Sasuke and Itachi saw him jump out of the way of the black fire.

"The black flames are impressive. That must be one of your Mangekyou abilities. It's interesting that both of you share this ability. It shows just how close you are as brothers, but you shouldn't have used such an attack in front of me" Fugaku said standing across from his sons.

Sasuke and Itachi looked at Fugaku unsure of what his next move would be, and they were shocked when they saw his Mangekyou shine brightly before the Black Flames of the Amaterasu technique were sent back towards them forcing them to jump apart to dodge the technique. The Black Flames Fugaku released were so much hotter than what Itachi and Sasuke could muster.

They both looked at Fugaku in surprise when he let out a smirk.

"My Mangekyou ability allows me to copy any jutsu I see, and perform them at 4x the normal strength of the Jutsu" Fugaku explained. Itachi nodded and decided that their father was too powerful for them to play with.

"Sasuke" Itachi whispered gaining the attention of his little brother.

"What is it Itachi? Do you have a plan to defeat him quickly? Let me guess, you want me to fight him alone while you prepare it?" Sasuke asked. Itachi nodded, satisfied that Sasuke had already guessed what he was going.

"Alright, I've been wanting to fight father alone anyway. Maybe he'll respect me more after I cut him into pieces" Sasuke said as he unsheathed Kusanagi and let his lightning chakra coat the blade as charged at Fugaku.

Fugaku raised his eyebrow at the sight of Sasuke charging at him alone. Fugaku had always been proud of Sasuke, but he knew that he didn't do a good job of showing it while he was alive. This had led to Sasuke resenting him, but it had also made Sasuke strive to surpass Itachi. Seeing how powerful Sasuke had become, Fugaku decided that he didn't regret his actions.

"Come Sasuke. Let's see what you can do against me without Itachi watching your back" Fugaku said as he dodged the first swing of Sasuke's sword, only to have his cheek slashed.

Fugaku touched his cheek confused. He was sure that he dodged Sasuke's sword so he was confused about what cut him until he saw Sasuke wielding another sword made out of Sasuke's lightning chakra. That technique looked eerily similar to a power Jutsu that he'd seen from the young Anbu Captain.

"Interesting Jutsu, it looks just like the 'Chidori' I've seen Kakashi Hatake use. Where'd you learn it?" Fugaku asked while charging at his youngest son sending a flurry of punches and kicks at inhuman speeds.

"The man who taught it to me was Kakashi Hatake. He was my mentor on Team 7, but I've created my own variations of the technique. For example, this Chidori sword" Sasuke said as he dodged everyone of Fugaku's attacks at an equally inhuman speed.

A small smile appeared on Fugaku's face, but it was gone as quickly as it came as he stared at Sasuke's Chidori swords while attacking him. Sasuke noticed this and watched as his father's Mangekyou spun quickly. Soon after, Fugaku had a Chidori sword either hand, wincing a little at the power of the unfamiliar chakra.

"Foolish Sasuke. Didn't I just tell you about my Mangekyou ability? Now I'm able to do the same technique at 4x the original strength. What do you plan on doing now?" Fugaku said while swinging one of the Chidori swords towards his son.

Sasuke blocked the swing with Kusanagi and sent a roundhouse kick that Fugaku blocked with the other sword. Sasuke winced in pain and annoyance as the power lightning chakra touched his foot then he jumped back a few feet to give him some space

' _ **Okay, I've officially had enough of this fight. I just hope people will have the common sense to run away when the time comes'**_ Sasuke thought to himself while summoning his chakra for his attack.

" **FIRE STYLE: FLAME DRAGON JUTSU"** Sasuke said.

Itachi and Fugaku both watched with surprise on their faces as the giant fire dragon charged towards Fugaku, but they were even more surprised went it veered off course and was sent into the clouds.

"What was that Sasuke? You just wasted nearly 75 percent of your remaining chakra on that Jutsu just to miss? Is your aim really that bad?" Fugaku asked taunting Sasuke, but Sasuke just smirked.

Fugaku was about to ask what Sasuke was smirking at, but he heard a loud crack of thunder that turned his attention towards the sky. He watched thunderclouds formed above him and the shift in the atmosphere made the hair on his arms stand up. Itachi noticed this as well and quickly activated his Susanno.

Fugaku then looked back towards Sasuke to see that he had a basic Chidori in his hand and was holding it up towards the sky.

"Foolish Father. You made the mistake of thinking that I was aiming my Fire Jutsu at you. Now begone with the thunder clap" Sasuke said as the lightning in the sky took the form of a Dragon.

Fugaku watched as the Lightning Dragon went back into the clouds and was suddenly filled with even more pride in his youngest son. He knew that he had no counter or defense for Sasuke's jutsu, so he closed his eyes and smirked before saying.

"Do it"

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice as he brought his hand down.

" **KIRIN"** Sasuke said and soon a blinding light consumed Fugaku Uchiha along with the entire area.

 **TBC**

 **Jiang-sama- Thank you! Yeah Madara is pretty sick, but its all to achieve his goal. I try my best not to be predictable and hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!**

 **The Unkown Uchia- Yeah. They're definitely gonna be the cause of a few heartaches.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Yep I hope you enjoyed the fighting scenes between them.**

 **2plygal- Thank you! Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Orein123- Thank you for this review, its really helpful. One of these days I'll go back through the entire fic and revise it according to this.**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Thank you! And no Shisui wasn't revived because Kabuto couldn't find his body. At least I think thats how it went in canon.**

 **Dragon Tuerto 15- Thank you! I'll try to fix those.**

 **BreycelRoselina- Thank you! Hope that you enjoy this chapter too.**

 **That one Kitsune- Hope you enjoyed part 1 of the action chapters.**

 **One Eyed King Kaneki Uchiha- Lmao sorry about that. I was told it makes stories more interesting and thanks! Hope I didn't make you wait too long.**

 **Splaaash-attack- Hope I lived up to your expectations for the first part of the fight scenes.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you man. I'm hope you approve of the action scenes.**

 **Thank you for everyone who continues to Read and Review this story. It really gives me the motivation to continue writing! Until Next Time - Dishon 3**


	35. End of The Akatsuki

**Chapter 35**

Everyone groaned as they began to recover from Sasuke's attack. It had been unexpected and it consumed the entire area, giving the others little time to prepare for it. Sasuke's technique destroyed even more of the buildings than Nagato's 'Almighty Push' technique did, so the surronding area was reduced to little more than a wasteland.

Hashirama had felt the attack coming and created a wood style wall of defense to protect him and all of the people around him from the shockwaves of the attack. When he was sure that Sasuke's Jutsu had subsided, he moved to release the Jutsu, but was surprised to see that it was crumbling to pieces by itself.

"Whew that was an impressive attack! Seems like he and Madara are alike after all" Hashirama said looking at the burnt pieces of wood that surrounded them.

Tobirama mumbled his agreement with a sweat drop forming on his face. Sasuke was just a teenager and his power already surpassed Tobirama's prime. This would've made Tobirama uneasy if it was any teenage shinobi, but the fact that Sasuke was a Uchiha made him feel even worse about it.

Hiruzen and Tsunade were also surprised by Sasuke. Neither of them had expected him to be as strong as he was, and he just proved with that technique alone that he was more than capable of leveling an entire Village if he wanted to.

They both sent Orochimaru an incredulous look as if to ask 'Did you know he could do this?'. The man just gave them a smirk with obvious pride showing in his eyes, but there was also a hint of fear there; That told them that even he hadn't known about his pupil's powerful lightning style technique.

He, Jiraiya, Team Taka, Zabuza and Haku had all been fighting Reanimated shinobi and Zetsu in the area, so they were shielded from the attack by Hashirama. They looked around surprised to see that the enemies that they were fighting had all been vaporized.

"I didn't bother protecting our enemies from the shockwaves of the attack and you can see the result of that" Hashirama said.

Everyone was amazed by this, except for Suigetsu who clearly still wanted to fight someone.

"Damn. Sasuke just took all the fun out of this fight! His attack got rid of all of the Zetsu and resurrected Uchiha that I wanted to kill. Now who am I supposed to fight?" Suigestu whined.

"Shut up brat and be happy that you didn't get caught in the crossfire. You would've evaporated instantly" Zabuza scolded secretly amazed at Sasuke's attack.

"Enough idle chat. I'll seal these Uchiha away before they all reform. The rest of you make sure that everyone who didn't get shielded by my brother is okay" Tobirama ordered the people around him while forming his hands seals.

"You're still as bossy as ever Tobirama" Hashirama whispered to himself as he and the others went to do as Tobirama said.

XxXxXx

Kakashi and Obito returned from their Kamui Dimension to see the destruction that Sasuke's attack had caused.

As soon as they saw the massive Lightning Dragon head back into the clouds, they felt that they had to avoid the attack at all costs, and looking at the wasteland that Sasuke had turned the battlefield into, they knew that they made the right decision.

"Woah. What kind of technique was that?" Obito asked seeing that all of the reanimated Shinobi and Zetsu were all disposed of as well.

"I don't know, but it sure made the fighting go a lot quicker" Kakashi replied also noticing that all of the reanimated Konoha shinobi were down. They were reforming, but it was slow, so obviously they had been dealt a lot of damage.

Kakashi was worried about their allies, but that worry was short lived as he looked around to see that all of the shinobi that fought by their side were safe and sound, covered by a red aura courtesy of Naruto.

Obito noticed this as well, and he also saw Sakura healing the wounded shinobi on the battlefield while others went to work sealing the reanimated shinobi before they could fully recover.

"Damn Kakashi, how does it feel knowing that you're three students are capable of so much at such a young age?" Obito asked in amazement.

' _ **I barely taught them anything, but they have all come a long way in such a short amount of time. Even if Naruto and Sasuke kept their power from Sasuke's last life, it's still incredible that they ever had so much power to begin with. Even Sakura has progressed so much. I'm honored knowing that they are my students'**_ Kakashi thought to himself, but he didn't vocalize that to Obito.

Instead he just responded with a casual shrug and surveyed the area for any dangers. Obito just looked at him and sighed knowing that Kakashi wouldn't verbally answer his question.

"Well whatever, lets go make sure that this battle is really over with. Sasuke's attack was powerful, but there were a lot of powerful resurrected shinobi, so I doubt that it defeated all of them" Obito said. Kakashi nodded in agreement as the two continued to surveyed the destroyed battlefield.

XxXxXx

Hinata rubbed her head as she sat up to recover from the impact of Sasuke's attack. She would've been caught in the blast if it hadn't been for Naruto's chakra cloak covering her a moment before the attack.

Her eyes widened when she saw the remains of the battlefield, but she was relieved to see that her friends and allies survived the explosion. She also noticed that the reincarnated Uchiha that she had been fighting were all destroyed, and even though she could tell that some of them were trying to reform; she was grateful for the break from fighting.

She looked to see Sasuke and Itachi standing alone in the center of a crater showing where the blast originated. She could see the exhaustion on his face from where she was, so she quickly stood up and was about to make her way over to him, but a voice stopped her.

"Wait Hinata"

Hinata turned around to see the newly reformed Mikoto walking towards her. Hinata's eyes widened and she got in her battle stance.

"Mikoto! How are you able to move? I absorbed all of your remaining chakra" Hinata said surprised. Mikoto gave her a serene smile before she answered.

"Sasuke's last technique destroyed my body, and when I reformed I was able to move again. It must've undid the effects of your attack" Mikoto explained.

Hinata nodded in understanding as she activated her Byakugan and waited for Mikoto to make the first move, but when Mikoto didn't move Hinata looked at her in confusion. Seeing this, Mikoto spoke up.

"I have control of my body at the moment, so you can hurry up and lock up all my chakra points, so that I won't attack you when I lose control" Mikoto said.

Hinata hesitated for a moment before she approached her future mother-in-law and swiftly locked up her chakra points and absorbed her chakra, rendering her immobile once again.

When Mikoto was sure that she couldn't move she looked up at Hinata with a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you for that, now I have one more thing that I want to ask of you" Mikoto said as she noticed that her husband was starting to reform.

"Sure, what is it?" Hinata asked noticing that Fugaku had reformed as well and was talking to Sasuke. She wanted to run over there to help him badly.

Mikoto noticed Hinata expression and was pleased that Sasuke found someone that wanted to protect him just as much as he wanted to protect her. She definitely approved of Hyuuga Heiress.

"Take me over there with you when you go" Mikoto said causing Hinata to look at her.

"Are you sure? It seems that your husband is about to attack Sasuke and Itachi again. I don't think that you'd want to see them attacking each other" Hinata said as she turned her head away from Mikoto.

"That's exactly why I want to go. I want to congratulate my boys on defeating their father before I get sealed away. Besides there's somethings that I want to say to them" Mikoto responded.

Hinata's head snapped back towards Mikoto's form in surprise, but she wouldn't deny a mother's last wishes; Especially the mother of Sasuke and Itachi. Hinata nodded and picked Mikoto up and rushed towards the Uchiha males, both watching the fight on their way there.

XxXxXx

Sasuke let out a shaky breath as he felt the exhaustion take over his body, but he refused to show it.

At first he was worried that he had accidentally killed someone that was on his side with his side, but he instantly got over it when he noticed that Naruto and Hashirama had shielded their allies from the attack. He was glad that he allowed himself to trust them to protect the others.

His technique 'Kirin' had been perfectly timed, and as he looked around he noticed that he was able to take out most the remaining Zetsu and reanimated Shinobi as well, even though he could tell that some of them were starting to reform.

His eyebrow furrowed in annoyance when he noticed that his father was amongst the ones that were reforming, and he was even more annoyed when he reformed with a giant smirk on his face. Sasuke growled and was about to attack his father again, but his father's words froze him in place.

"That was certainly an impressive attack Sasuke. I don't have any Jutsu in my arsenal that top yours in destructive capability and the best part about it is that you're only 16 years old. I'm incredibly proud of you and your accomplishments thus far" Fugaku said with the smirk never leaving his face.

Sasuke gave Fugaku a look of shock. He had finally received the acknowledgement from his father that he had been craving as a child, and he didn't know how to react to it.

Itachi heard it as well and had a small smile on his face knowing that Sasuke had desperately wanted to hear their father say that to him when he was a kid. Itachi was happy that Sasuke got the closure with Fugaku that he wanted. Maybe now Sasuke will finally stop comparing himself to him.

"What!? Did you say that you're actually proud of me?" Sasuke asked still surprised as he saw his father's Mangekyou spinning violently.

"Yes that's right my son. I'm extremely proud of both you and Itachi, but especially you because I thought that you'd never be on the same level of power as your brother. I'm happy to say that you've proved me wrong. However, what will you do now that I've reformed with the ability to do your Jutsu with four times it's original strength?" Fugaku asked as he gathered his chakra.

Everyone remaining on the battlefield heard Fugaku's question and tensed.

Sasuke's attack was powerful enough to threaten everyone as it was; they didn't even want to imagine it at four times its original strength. If he was able to do that, not only would they all be doomed, but so would the innocent villagers hidden at the bunker on the outskirts of the Village.

Hashirama knew this and turned to deal with Fugaku himself, but he was satisfied to see that he wasn't needed because as soon as the words left Fugaku's mouth, he was pierced by Itachi's Susanno Sword.

Fugaku coughed up blood as he slowly looked down at the blade protruding through his torso. It left his body numb and he noticed that his wound wasn't reforming. He looked back up at his oldest son in surprise as he felt his skin crack.

"Sorry father, but I couldn't allow you to use Sasuke's technique. The Village wouldn't survive and that would be unacceptable. I've stabbed you with the Totsuka blade. You can no longer move or reform and you will be sealed shortly" Itachi said as his Mangekyou shined brightly. Fugaku was still surprised for a moment before he let out a smirk.

"Way to take advantage of the opportunity Itachi. I take pride in the fact that I lost to my two sons. I may have been a failure as a father, but I'm glad that both of you were at least able to grow into powerful shinobi that surpassed even me" Fugaku said as he deactivated his Sharingan to look at his two sons for the last time. Itachi, who was his pride and his eldest, and Sasuke, who looked so much like Mikoto, but proved to him that he was just as powerful as his brother, if not more so.

"I wish you both luck in the future. I can't wait to get back to the afterlife to watch you two restore the Uchiha Clan and make it better than it ever was before. Sasuke continue to progress and be the best you can be. Itachi remember your promise to take care of Sasuke, make sure that nothing happens to him. I'm counting on you" Fugaku said as he was pulled towards gourd in Itachi's Susanno's arms and sealed.

With Fugaku sealed away, Sasuke and Itachi looked towards each other with pained expressions on their faces. It seemed like the entire battlefield was silent for a moment, but the emotional turmoil did not end there for the Uchiha Brothers as Hinata arrived with Mikoto's still body a moment after Fugaku had been sealed.

Hinata placed Mikoto down in front of them before she walked over to Sasuke's side side, with Itachi joining them moments later. Mikoto smiled at the three from her position on the ground.

"I knew that you two would be able to defeat your father. Sasuke your lightning technique was incredible and Itachi that sealing technique of yours is definitely something that will be useful in this conflict. I'm so proud of both of you" Mikoto said.

"Mother" Sasuke and Itachi both said at the same time, but they both instantly shut up at the stern look Mikoto gave them.

"I thought I taught you two to never interrupt me when I'm talking" Mikoto said eyeing her two sons.

"Sorry Ma'am" both Itachi and Sasuke said before closing there mouths determined not to say anything else and just looked at her with a slight amount of fear in their eyes as they waited for her to continue.

"You have to teach me how to do that" Hinata said in amazement causing Mikoto to chuckle.

"It'll come to you naturally when you have my grandchildren" Mikoto said causing Hinata to blush and look away. Mikoto laughed to herself some more before addressing her sons again.

"Sasuke, I want you to know that I'm proud of the type of man that you're becoming. I thought for sure that the massacre would turn you into a sad and lonely child obsessed with Vengeance, but I'm glad that overcame that and banded together with your brother. The circumstances behind our massacre were controversial at best, but I don't mind that you're protecting the Village with your brother and friends. Its up to you two to make sure that the Uchiha's future is better than our past ever was. I love you so much my baby, I'll be watching you, and I want you to promise that you'll name one of you're children after me" Mikoto said with a teasing smile at the end of her words towards Sasuke.

Sasuke felt a sting building up behind his eyes, but he refused to let the tears drop as he nodded at his mother's words. Mikoto was satisfied with this and turned her attention towards her oldest son. The one that killed her, and she could tell by the solemn look in his eyes that he was still tortured by that decision.

"Itachi, you have never failed to make me a proud mother. You may have killed me and the rest of the clan besides Sasuke, but none of that matters because I can see how much you want to atone for your sins, and it's torturing you. We've already forgiven you so stop beating yourself up for the bloody past, and focus on helping Sasuke build an amazing future. No matter what the choice you've made is in the past or in the future, know that I will always love you" Mikoto said as she looked at her eldest son with tears streaming down her face.

Itachi had a pained expression on his face, but he nodded just like Sasuke had moments prior. Now that she got that off her chest, Mikoto decided to tease Itachi as well.

"And if you have a daughter before Sasuke does, then it's your duty as the eldest to name her after me" Mikoto said.

Itachi looked at his mother with surprise on his face before it was replaced with a smile and he nodded his agreement, making Mikoto's eyes shine brightly.

"Thank you. I think it's time for you to seal me away. Both of you remember that I love you and that your father and I will be watching you from above and eagerly awaiting the day that you two join us, but it better not be for a long time" Mikoto said.

Itachi and Sasuke both nodded as Itachi pierced her with the Totsuka Blade and sealed her away. With Mikoto sealed away, Sasuke and Itachi finally allowed themselves to show their emotions and tears dropped freely down the Uchiha Brothers face with only Hinata there to witness it.

They recovered after a few moments and looked at Hinata who had unshed tears still in her eyes after witnessing the emotional scene between the mother and her sons.

Itachi deactivated his Susanno before he walked over to Sasuke and poked his forehead before walking over to Hinata and doing the same to her.

"Come on. There'll be time for this later, lets go dispose of whoever's left" Itachi said.

Hinata and Sasuke nodded and walked away with Itachi, determined to end the fight and defend the Village.

XxXxXx

Everyone met up in the near where Tobirama was sealing away the reanimated Uchiha Shinobi. Tsunade, Sakura and the other medic nin on the battlefield were healing the injured shinobi while the others either sealed away the reanimated shinobi or were attacking the ones that reformed. This strategy proved to be mostly effective until, Nagato and Konan had reformed.

Konan was a problem because she threw paper bombs all over the battlefield, triggering random explosions, but she was defeated relatively easily by a high level Water Jutsu courtesy of Tobirama, but Nagato was a differently matter entirely.

All of the Ninjutsu that was fired at him was absorbed and he also kept his distance from the fighters who held the Taijutsu advantage over him. Overall, Nagato wasn't easy to defeat. Eventually the three Sannin attacked him all at once.

Orochimaru glared at Jiraiya as he dodged an attack from Nagato.

"I told you it would've been easier to just let me kill those children. If you had then we wouldn't be in this situation now would we?" The Snake Sannin asked sarcastically while firing a Wind Style Jutsu at Nagato who easily absorbed it.

"How was I supposed to know that he'd grow up and attack the Village one day. I can't see the future" Jiraiya responded as he dodged a missile sent by Nagato.

"Will you two stop arguing and focus on the fight? We don't have time for this right now" Tsunade said as she tried to rush Nagato, but a saw-like blade pierced through her abdomen causing her to cough up blood.

"TSUNADE" Orochimaru and Jiraiya yell simultaneously, but they were relieved to see that she was alright.

She grabbed the blade and pulled Nagato closer to her before delivering a bone shattering blow to his face, knocking him back a few feet as she healed her wound moments later, as if it never happened. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were soon by her side and together the three Sannin charged Nagato.

Nagato, seeing them coming, quickly formed his hand signs and slammed his palm on the ground.

" **SUMMONING JUTSU"** Nagato shouted as a large amount of smoke consumed the area.

The smoke cleared to reveal a giant Chameleon, Multi headed Dog, and Bird all with Rinnegan eyes towering over the Sannin and the rest of the Villagers.

Hashirama and Tobirama moved to get involved in the battle, but Hiruzen stopped them with a smirk on his face.

"Relax my Lords. My students are far from outmatched in this fight. Just sit back and watch the Three-Way Deadlock summoning in action" Hiruzen said.

"Oh I never thought I'd see the technique again" Minato said as he appeared next to the other Hokage.

Hashirama and Tobirama looked at each other for a moment before they decided not to intervene and to just watch the battle.

"Well guys you know what to do, and as your Hokage I order you to do it quickly so that we can end the threat to the Village" Tsunade said as she bit her thumb and slammed it to the ground.

"Don't pretend to order me around Tsunade, remember that we just happen to be on the same side for right now" Orochimaru said as he mimicked her actions.

"Orochimaru things would be so much easier for us if you just listened to Tsunade without responding with a snide comment all the time. She usually misses you and ends up hitting me" Jiraiya said as he bit his thumb and slammed it on the ground as well.

"SUMMONING JUTSU" the Sannin all said simultaneously as three monstrous shadows could be seen from behind the smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade standing on top of Gamabunta, Manda and Lady Katsuyu.

Gamabunta looked to his right to see Orochimaru and Manda beside him and instantly scowled.

"What are we doing working with low lives like those two Jiraiya? Did he brainwash you or something?" Gamabunta asked as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Nagato's summons.

"Quiet Toad. I don't like the idea of working with you either, but I've fought these summons before and I have to admit that they're tough opponents. However, if I hear your voice again then I will dispose of you after we get rid of them" Manda hissed at Gamabunta causing the Toad to glare at the snake who returned the glare with equal intensity.

"Why can't we all ever just get along? We have a common enemy and that should be enough to at least be civil with each other" Lady Katsuyu asked.

"Because he's unbearable" Gamabunta and Manda replied at the same time as they continued to glare at each other in contempt.

"Okay enough of this. Can we just focus on the enemy in front of us instead of attacking each other" Tsunade said.

Hearing this, the three summons decided to temporarily put aside their differences, so that they could focus on the task at hand. Having fought the summons before, Manda decided that he was the one most qualified to take the lead in the fight.

"Katsuyu, use your acid to take out the bird's wings. His ability to fly will prove to be annoying for us, if we don't neutralize it now. Gamabunt, you and I will ensure that the other two don't jump in the way. They all share the same vision so I'm almost sure that they'd try too" Manda said.

"Geez who made you the boss rat-breath?" Gamabunta said.

"Just do as I say wart-skin" Manda replied.

"Care to repeat that?" Gamabunta asked as he pointed his sword at Manda.

"Gamabunta focus" Jiraiya said, slightly embarrassed by his Summon's behavior. It seemed that Orochimaru's summon was at least trying to act civil, but his was trying to pick a fight. It made him look bad.

Gamabunta mumbled to himself in annoyance as he returned his attention back towards the enemy summons that were currently approaching at a fast speed.

The three instantly sprung into action to disable the other summons. Katsuyu spit acid at the bird burning through it's wings and grounding it, Manda wrapped his body around the three headed dog and squeezed until it lost consciousness, and Gamabunta used his sword to pin the chameleon to the ground.

"That was surprisingly simple, and you said that these guys were tough? Maybe your just not as strong as you like to think you are" Gamabunta said while looking down at the Chameleon.

"It was three on one last time you insolent tadpole. One on one is obviously different" Manda hissed in outrage.

"What did you just call me?" Gamabunta asked.

"You two are so annoying" Lady Katsuyu said.

The three Sannin just sweatdropped at the antics of their summons, but they were satisfied that Nagato's summons had been neutralized so they decided to just ignore them.

They all jumped down and approached Nagato, who they were sure was out of options to attack them with.

"Give up Nagato and just let us seal you" Jiraiya said.

"Your fate was decided the moment we became your opponents. Just embrace the fact that you're about to be sealed away" Orochimaru said as he got ready to seal him.

"I hope you all can survive this Jutsu" Nagato said as he clapped his hands together and gathered his chakra.

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked before she saw Nagato form a black sphere in his hands and throw it into the sky.

" **PLANETARY DEVASTION"** Nagato shouted.

Soon after, everyone in the area felt a strong gravitational force pulling them towards the black sphere. A few random shinobi who were to weak to resist were pulled in immediately along with the remains of the debris in the area, killing them instantly. The summons were also pulled into the attack and were poofed instantly.

Seeing this everyone tried their best to think of a way to avoid getting pulled of their feet. Naruto intensified his Kyuubi Cloak around everyone to try to keep them grounded, while Hashirama made wood style branches for people to hold on to.

Itachi and Sasuke had their Susanno activated and Hinata was in Sasuke's Susanno. Itachi looked at the center of the of the sphere and analyzed the technique before he turned to Sasuke.

"We have to destroy the sphere with our strongest projectile attacks. We don't really have to aim since the gravitational force will pull our attacks towards it anyway" Itachi said while throwing Yasaka beads with his Susanno.

Sasuke nodded and fired a Susanno arrow at it as well.

Other shinobi caught on to the Uchiha Brother's plan and soon multiple powerful Jutsu's were being thrown towards the Black Sphere before a particularly powerful Rasen Shuriken destroyed it completely, and freeing everyone from the gravitational pull of Nagato's attack.

Itachi quickly flew over to Nagato and pierced him with the Totsuka Blade to seal him away. Itachi decided that he had seen enough of Nagato's abilities to know that he didn't want to risk anymore fighting from him.

"Thank you Itachi. I'm sorry for unleashing Madara on the world, but I thought that he was the savior the world needed to stop the violence" Nagato said.

"I can't blame you for your decision, and the fact remains that you have probably been manipulated from the beginning. Don't blame yourself for this, and leave Madara to us" Itachi replied. Nagato nodded and was sucked into Itachi's sealing gourd.

With Nagato out of the picture, the battle was finally won, and the Leaf Villagers cheered at their victory.

Kisame walked back towards the group with a smirk on his face and Hidan's disembodied head in his hand screaming curses at him.

"So you're the big hero huh Itachi?" Kisame said smirking.

"I guess you can say that. Nice job dispatching of Hidan, but where's Kakazu?" Itachi asked looking around for the last member of the Akatsuki.

"I don't know. He disappeared after your little brother's lightning attack, he either ran away or he's dead. I wouldn't be worried about him anyway, he only had one heart left" Kisame said with a smirk.

"How'd you manage to take care of Hidan and injure Kakazu so drastically?" Itachi asked.

"I had quite a bit of help from the Taijutsu specialist and the Jonin with the cigarette in his mouth. They took care of Kakazu while got my one on one fight with this pest" Kisame said referring to Gai and Asuma.

"Shut the fuck up you fish fuck. You cheated, and waited until that bright light blinded me before you cut my head off of my body. If it wasn't for that distraction then you'd be sushi on Lord Jashin's plate by now" Hidan cursed.

The surrounding shinobi were uncomfortable by the fact that a disembodied head was screaming curses, so being Hokage, Tsunade went over to investigate the situation.

"I take it that this is the immortal member of the Akatsuki that I was warned about. Hidan right? Why'd you keep his head?" Tsunade asked Kisame.

"Oh I was just gloating to this Bastard about the fact that I cut his head off, but now that I think about it, we can probably use him to gather more information on what Madara is planning, because I zoned out a little while Madara was talking" Kisame said while tossing Hidan's head towards Tsuande who looked surprised as she caught it. Hidan looked at Tsunade and sneered.

"If you think that I'm going to tell you anything, then have another thing coming you ballon breasted bitch" Hidan said.

Tsunade twitched at this and motioned for Itachi to shut Hidan up. Itachi obeyed and placed Hidan in an illusion that knocked him unconscious.

Tsunade nodded her thanks before she began to direct the restoration of the Village, and sending some shinobi to get the rest of the Villagers that were hiding in the evacuation zone under Hokage Mountain.

XxXxXx

While this was happening, Hashirama made his way to Sasuke who was on the side talking to Hinata. When they noticed that the first Hokage was walking towards them, Hinata bowed and after Sasuke whispered to her to let them talk alone, she walked away to check on the other Hyuugas.

When Hinata was out of earshot, Sasuke turned back towards Hashirama, who had a huge smile on his face.

"You were quite impressive during the fighting, and even though your technique was dangerous and powerful enough to destroy everyone around you; you still used it and trusted me and Naruto to protect everyone else. From what you've told me about Indra, I doubt any other Indra incarnate would trust an Ashura incarnate with anything and you trusted both of us. I think you have the makings of an excellent Hokage someday" Hashirama said surprising Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the man in shock for a few more seconds before he let a smirk show on his face.

"What irony is this? The First Hokage telling me, the current Indra Incarnate, that he would make an excellent Hokage, when the current Ashura incarnate desperately wants to be Hokage someday" Sasuke said surprising Hashirama.

As if knowing that he was mentioned in the conversation, Naruto approached the two with his Kyuubi Cloak disappearing around him. He looked emotionally drained, much like Sasuke, but there was still a smile on his face.

"What are y'all over here talking about? I felt kinda left out and I got the feeling that someone was talking about me" Naruto said.

"I was just saying how Sasuke would make an excellent Hokage one day. Don't you agree?" Hashirama asked not really believing Sasuke's words and expecting Naruto to agree with him wholeheartedly, but he was surprised by the look of offense that showed on his face.

"No no no, not the Bastard. I'd make a much better Hokage that he ever could" Naruto responded with a pout on his face causing Hashirama to sweatdrop.

"I don't doubt that, I just thought that Sasuke would be good at the position too, and I also didn't realize that you wanted the position. I personally never wanted to be the First Hokage, and wanted to give the position to Madara, but I was outvoted. I just thought that you'd share my sentiment" Hashirama said.

"No way. He'd probably be good at the paperwork and stuff, but he'd probably solve all of the problems with violence. The Bastard has no social skills" Naruto said causing Hashirama to laugh.

"He's definitely like Madara when it comes to things like that, and Madara was always so paranoid. He couldn't even pee with someone standing behind him" Hashirama said while continuing to laugh with Naruto at the antics of Sasuke and Madara.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and thought about how angry Madara was going to be when he realized his plan failed. They better get to work on planning their next move before the Legendary Uchiha decided to take things into his own hands, and Sasuke had a feeling that it would be soon.

XxXxXx

Madara sneezed from where he was in the Akatsuki base.

' _ **I'll be sure to personally take care of whoever dared to talk about me in such a matter that it made me sneeze'**_ Madara thought to himself while he rubbed his nose.

He was not happy. Kabuto had informed him that all of the forces that he sent to attack the Village were disposed of and sealed away, so that they couldn't use them again.

This was a big blow to his Edo Tensei army, because Nagato was a powerhouse and the resurrected Uchiha Clan would've been a force to reckon with on the battlefield, especially Fugaku with his Mangekyou ability. Madara sighed at his defeat as he thought over his next move. That was when the door to the hideout bursted open revealing a beaten and bloody Kakazu limping into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Madara calmly asked the man.

"They were too strong. I killed a few, but some of the leaf's forces were capable fighters that prevented me from gathering more hearts from my victims. Then Itachi's little brother fired off an powerful attack that blinded me, and while I was blinded, two cowards were able to take two of my hearts, and Kisame turned on us and cut off Hidan's head. Retreat was the best option" Kakazu said.

Madara absorbed the information as he extended his hand towards Kakazu. Kakazu's eyes widened and he tried to flee, but it was too late as Madara had already caught him in his attack.

He pulled Kakazu's body toward him and stuck out his hand as Kakazu can close to him. Kakazu coughed up blood when he felt Madara's hand stab through his chest and grab his final heart. Kakazu slowly looked back at Madara as if to ask him why he did it, and Madara just smirked before responding.

"I have no use for cowards within my ranks, but thank you for the information you provided. I think you'll serve me better as an Edo Tensei shinobi, that way you won't be so fragile" Madara said as he closed his fist, crushing Kakazu's heart and killing him.

Madara then kicked Kakazu's corpse to the corner of the room for Kabuto to take DNA samples of when he returns from his mission, before he began pacing again trying to think about his next course of action.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he'd have to get involved sooner rather than later and the thought made a giant smirk spread across Madara's face.

' _ **Enjoy this small victory. You've won the battle, but the war is far from over. Soon the general will make his appearance'**_ Madara thought to himself with the sadistic smirk still on his face.

 **TBC**

 **I'm so sorry for the extra long break from the fic. What was it like 3 weeks? I apologize. I was so preoccupied with studying for my Finals and completing my Final projects that I had no time to write for this story. Please forgive me! I hope that this chapter Kind of makes up for my absence.**

 **One Eyed King Kaneki Uchiha- I'm glad that you agree.**

 **Dominiknoxi- you think so? I hope I can fix that soon and he has the mind and body of a 16 year old, but I can understand why you'd think he was technically 32. I tried to make it clear throughout the story that but he was sent back with his power and memories, but he returned to the young age. Like he started over completely from age 7.**

 **Lolithia (Guest)- Oh I haven't forgotten about the other elders, its just that Danzo was the priority. They'll get dealt with eventually.**

 **The Unkown Uchia- Thank you!**

 **HinaHime (Guest)- she sure did and I hope that you enjoyed her conversation with her two sons.**

 **Rex559 (Guest)- I like the Konan/Obito pairing but it won't be happening in this story, and I while I really like Madara, I view him as unredeemable. I don't think that he can turn good, but I like your idea.**

 **Shikara Gizzel- who? And woahh I love that idea, but where would Orochimaru find Izuna's grave? And that's actually a great idea too that I never would've thought of, but I just don't think that it works that way, and even if it did then what's to say that instead of Ashura and Indra being revived, it would be Hashirama and Madara? I don't think the incarnates share DNA, but that would be cool.**

 **2plygal- Thank you! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Splaaash-attack- I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and I hope that you enjoyed the ending of the fight between Fugaku and his sons.**

 **That one Kitsune- Woah! That's high praise and I wouldn't have ever expected a review like that. Thank you so much! I really don't know what else to say to that, I'm just so surprised. I do plan on writing more SasuHina fics after this one is finished, and as for a sequel to this story I'm not sure, because I'm not the biggest fan of the Boruto series, but I'll leave it up to you guys in the review section.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Glad you enjoyed it! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Once again I'm sorry for the long wait, but at least now it's summertime, so I should have more time on my hands to update. Please Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	36. Let's Just Talk

**Chapter 36**

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Naruto and Hashirama. They were no longer laughing about the comparisons between him and Madara, but somehow their conversation had devolved into a semi-heated discussion about which one of their favorite food's was better. Naruto was currently trying to convince Hashirama that Ramen was way better than Mushroom mixed soup when Sasuke finally reached the limit of his patience and cleared his throat.

Naruto and Hashirma both looked at Sasuke as if to ask him 'What do you want?', but Sasuke ignored it and took full advantage of finally having their attention.

"What is our next move when it comes to Madara? He probably knows that his forces have been defeated by now and I highly doubt that he's going to waste his time sending anymore pawns here when the last group that he sent failed him. He's likely to come here himself, so how are we going to handle that if that happens?" Sasuke asked.

Sasuke made sure that the question was more directed towards Hashirama, but Naruto was either too dense to notice that or just didn't care, and spoke up.

"I still think that we should at least talk to him first. We might be able to avoid this entire war if we try to understand things from his perspective. It can't hurt to try right?" Naruto said.

Sasuke smacked his forehead at his friend's idiocy. He, Itachi and Obito had already told Naruto before that Madara was far beyond the 'Talk no Jutsu' phase, but once Naruto got an idea in his head, it was like talking to a brick wall.

"Naruto that idea is stupid, and it actually would hurt to try. There's no way that Madara would just stand there and have a conversation with us when he knows that you're the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. He'd attack and try to take the Nine Tails by force before you even managed to get a word out to convince him otherwise" Sasuke said slowly trying to get his friend to understand what he was saying.

"But how would you know that for sure if we don't try?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, knowing that Naruto was a lost cause. He then looked at Hashirama knowing that the First Hokage would surely understand and be on his side, but he was slightly worried when he saw the contemplative look on his face.

' _ **He couldn't actually be considering Naruto's idea could he? No, there's no way the Village's First Hokage, the so called 'God of Shinobi' could ever consider going to talk to his greatest enemy and biggest rival. Ashura's incarnates can't all be dense can they?'**_ Sasuke thought to himself, but his fears were confirmed when Hashirama spoke.

"I think that Naruto is right. Do you know where he could be right now?" Hashirama asked shocking Sasuke.

"He's at the Akatsuki Base that Itachi told us about. Sasuke knows where it is" Naruto answered.

"Perfect. Since we know where he is, then we can go talk to him. Just us three" Hashirama said.

Naruto gave Hashirama a nod in agreement glad that he was on his side, while Sasuke was still shocked into silence at his decision.

Seeing that there were no objections, Hashirama spoke again.

"We leave tonight. Don't worry Sasuke, I know that you have doubts about how this meeting will play out, but remember that I know Madara better than everyone here. He will listen to us, there's no guarantee that he'll talk back, but I promise you that he will listen. He also won't attack us... well at least not you two" Hashirama said with a small laugh.

Sasuke didn't find that laugh reassuring, but he was out numbered and he wasn't going to let Naruto go anywhere near Madara without him there. He sighed in acceptance.

"Fine, we'll leave later tonight when everyone's sleep. I'll fly us there with my Susanno to make the trip quicker" Sasuke said while running his hand through his hair.

"Good. Then it's decided, I'll see you two in a few hours in the Forest of Death. Be ready" Hashirama said as he walked away from the two teenagers.

After that Naruto left to go introduce Haku to his father, and Sasuke walked over to where Hinata was to inform her about what was going to happen later tonight. Sasuke didn't know what to expect, but one thing that he knew for sure was that this meeting with Madara would definitely dictate the future of the Shinobi World.

XxXxXx

Gaara was currently in his office going over the files of every shinobi in the Sand Village trying to determine which unit to put them in for the war.

He was named Commander-in-chief of the combat divisions for the war at the Kage Summit, so since then he was busy looking over the files of every shinobi. He had already finished assigning the shinobi from every other Great Nation to their groups. He had saved his own Village for last since he knew his Villagers, and thought that it wouldn't take much time to assign them, but there was an unpredicted distraction, making his work go slower.

"When are Shikamaru, Sai, Temari and Kankuro going to get back? Dinnertime is going be soon, and I have a feeling that I'm going to need help to get you out of your office" a voice whispered into his ear.

Ino, Sai and Shikamaru came to the Sand Village with him when the Kage Summit concluded.

Shikamaru was assigned to go with him because he was considered the second greatest strategist in the shinobi world behind his father, so Tsunade assigned him to help Gaara with assigning the other shinobi to their groups. Gaara was grateful for this decision, because Shikamaru was a big reason why he was done assigning the shinobi from every other Village so fast. He had given him the day off because he felt confident in his ability to assign the Sand Shinobi by himself.

Sai came with him, because he was eager to explore his new friendship with Gaara, and he also wanted to help the war effort in any way he could. Tsunade gave him permission because made the trip faster with his Jutsu. Gaara really was grateful that they didn't have to walk to Suna. Instead, they traveled comfortably on the back of a giant bird that Sai had drawn.

Ino came because of Gaara's personal request. He wasn't quite content with the short time they spent together in the Leaf, and with the War looming on the Shinobi World, he wanted Ino by his side at all times to make sure that she was safe. Tsunade agreed to Gaara's request, but not without a fair amount of teasing that the Redhead was forced to endure.

Hearing her whisper, Gaara moved his teal eyes from the file of a random shinobi and into the deep blue orbs of Ino's eyes.

"I don't know when they are going to get back. They were given the day off, and you were as well. I don't know why you didn't go out with them" Gaara said with his usual emotionless voice.

"I wanted to stay here with you, so that you wouldn't be overly worried about any of the male Villagers hitting on me. You're girlfriend is a very attractive woman, you know?" Ino said with a cocky smile.

"She's very modest as well" Gaara said with a smirk and Ino could see the amusement in his eyes before he returned back the file that he was reading.

Ino could tell that Gaara was a little stressed from all the work that he was doing and could use a break, but she knew that he would never admit to such a thing and continue to overwork himself.

Ino thought for a moment on how to get Gaara to relax for once, and a few seconds later a devious smile adorned her face as she got an idea.

She slowly pushed Gaara's chair back and climbed into his lap, making Gaara freeze and instantly stop what he was working on to give Ino his full attention. He watched as she placed one hand on his chest and the other on the back of his neck as she settled herself on top of him.

Ino watched in satisfaction as the color Gaara's face slowly changed until it was matching the color of his hair. The expression on his face was priceless and Ino would've laughed if she wasn't so focused right now.

Gaara's throat was dry as the desert he lived in, and his mind refused to work anymore, but he was determined to speak, so he opened his mouth and hoped for the best.

"I-Ino what are you doing?" Gaara stuttered in a hoarse voice as his eyes unconsciously roamed Ino's body and he licked his lips. Ino was satisfied at the reaction.

"You deserve a break from all this work, and I know a perfect way to take your mind off of everything" Ino said as she closed the distance between them and kissed him teasingly to see what his response would be.

" **This is it young Gaara! It's finally time to mark your mate and claim her as forever yours. Don't screw this up"** Shukaku said.

Gaara was vaguely aware that the Bijuu was saying something to him, but he was much to focused on Ino to care about the One Tail at the moment.

Acting off Instinct alone, he wrapped his arms tightly around Ino and pulled her closer to him as their lips fought for dominance.

Ino's eyes widened as she wasn't quite expecting this from Gaara, but she slowly closed her eyes and gave into the passionate kiss.

Soon the kisses began to get more and more heated, but neither seemed to mind, until Gaara's Sand ripped off Ino's clothes. Gaara pulled away horrified when he noticed what happened. He blushed at the sight of Ino in just her purple bra and panties, and looked away as he began to apologize.

"I'm sorry. My Sand acts on its own sometimes. I didn't mean to- MMM" Gaara started but he was cut off my Ino pressing her lips to his again.

When she pulled away, Gaara gasped at the look in her eyes. They were clouded in lust and love for him. He was stuck in a trance for a moment causing Ino to giggle. She hadn't planned for this to progress like this, but she wasn't going to stop now. She spoke to snap him out of his trance.

"I don't think it's fair if you're the only one with clothes on" Ino said as she stood up and removed her bra and panties before looking at Gaara expectantly.

As if hearing Ino's words, Gaara's sand quickly disrobed him, leaving Gaara completely naked. Gaara didn't have time to think about how his sand managed to do this, as Ino sat back in his lap as soon as he was naked.

Gaara decided then and there to stop thinking and just go with it. Gaara would remember this as one of the best decisions that he's ever made as he and Ino joined their bodies together as one.

XxXxXx

Shikamaru, Sai and the Sand Siblings returned to the Kazekage tower for Dinner. They had spent the day in the Village with Kankuro trying to help Sai make friends and Temari making Shikamaru go with her to every single clothing store in Suna.

As they approached office to get Gaara and Ino for dinner they were starting to hear noises coming from the inside. Temari and Shikamaru felt a blush cover their faces when they realized what the noises were. Kankuro burst out laughing when he figured it out, and Sai just looked at them all in confusion when they stopped walking.

"What's the matter? I know you hear the noises coming from inside the office. Shouldn't we go make sure that they're alright?" Sai asked.

"I mean you could go in there if you want, but I'm not sure that Gaara would appreciate it very much. There's a good chance that he'd attack you for interrupting" Kankuro said still laughing until Temari punched his shoulder.

"Why would he be mad at me coming to check on him? What would I be interrupting?" Sai asked with confusion clear in his voice.

Shikamaru sighed and placed a hand on Sai's shoulder.

"It'd be to troublesome to explain to you what their doing right now, so instead of talking about it, how about we just start dinner without them. I'll tell them to explain it to you when they come down to join us" Shikamaru said.

Sai looked skeptical, but nodded his agreement as Shikamaru quickly led him, Temari and Kankuro to kitchen and away from Gaara's office. Sai would be sure to ask Gaara and Ino about it later.

XxXxXx

Elsewhere, Kabuto was in the Sand Village disguised as a Sand Shinobi so that he could gather DNA samples for more Edo Tensei shinobi.

Madara had sent him to Suna immediately after he told him that their forces were overpowered and sealed away, and Kabuto couldn't be happier to obey the intimidating Uchiha.

Kabuto felt nothing less then uneasy around the man, and he knew that if he made one mistake, or said the wrong thing around him then he was as good as dead.

He was also able to think more clearly without the overwhelming presence of Madara looming behind him, so he was able to realize that it was impossible for Sasuke to have been the one who resurrected the previous four Hokage. Kabuto may have been busy with training Hinata, but he often peeped in on Sasuke's training sessions with Orochimaru and he didn't remember Orochimaru teaching Sasuke any forbidden jutsu. Not to mention the fact that all of the Hokage were sealed in the Reaper, so one would have to free them from there in order to use them, and even Kabuto himself didn't know how to do that.

These thoughts led Kabuto to the conclusion that Orochimaru was somehow still alive, and his thoughts were confirmed when he saw him fighting against Nagato.

That in itself wasn't all that surprising to Kabuto since he knew that his master was adept in surviving any encounter; the thing that bothered Kabuto is that Orochimaru was now back on the side of Konoha.

He had never expected that to happen, and now he was technically fighting in a war against his master. Kabuto didn't like that thought at all, but he couldn't just turn against Madara, he wasn't the suicidal type.

Kabuto decided that he just had to do what Madara commanded for now, and bide his time until either the man was defeated by someone else or he came up with a plan to kill the man himself.

Now that he knew that Orochimaru was still alive, Kabuto's purpose shifted back to serving him, and making sure that he achieved all of his ambitions.

' _ **This certainly complicates things'**_ Kabuto thought to himself as he continued to gather DNA samples of past Sand Shinobi and brainstormed different ways to defeat the all powerful Uchiha.

XxXxXx

After Naruto introduced Haku to him, Minato walked over to where his former students were conversing with Gai. When they noticed his approach, Minato could see the beads of sweat beginning to form on Obito's face.

"Loud Fourth! It's truly great to see you again. You've maintained your youthful appearance, and your power is even more amazing then I remember it being" Gai said with a blinding smile.

"Hello Gai. I see that you haven't changed much from the time that I was alive" Minato said with a smile.

"Really!? You really think that I've retained that much of my youthful energy?" Gai asked with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Uhh yes?" Minato said starting to get uncomfortable.

"Thank you so much Lord Fourth! That's the nicest thing that anyone has said to me all year. Hopefully Kakashi and Obito can learn more manners from you" Gai said furiously wiping his eyes to get rid of the tears.

"Speaking of Kakashi and Obito, I'd like to talk to my former students alone if you don't mind" Minato said.

Gai nodded and gave Obito and Kakashi a thumbs up before walking away. Leaving three of the former members of Team Minato alone. Minato placed his hands on their shoulders and teleported them to the Hokage Mountain so that they'd be able to talk without any unwanted attention.

"Start explaining" Minato said as he looked at Obito.

Obito gulped nervously before he obeyed his sensei and recalled the story of his life after his supposed 'death'. He told him everything from Madara saving him to being there when Rin died to unleashing the Nine Tails on Konoha.

Minato didn't speak at all during the story and when Obito was done he didn't speak for a moment, but when he did, it wasn't towards Obito.

"Okay now your turn Kakashi" Minato said with his voice leaving no room for argument. Kakashi looked at him surprised for a moment, before he obeyed as well.

He told them about his shame over the fact that he was unable to save any of his teammates, the habit of being late that he picked up to honor Obito's memory, his constant visits to the Konoha killed in action shrine, to him being the leader of Team 7, and finally to the most recent development of his girlfriend being pregnant with his son. The last one making shocked expressions appear on both Obito and Minato's faces.

"Congratulations Kakashi. Fatherhood is a scary thing, but I'm sure that you'll be great at it since you are a prodigy at everything else" Minato said reassuringly since he was the first to recover from Kakashi's news. Obito recovered after hearing his sensei's words.

"Yeah uh Congratulations. I just hope the kid takes more after his mother when it comes to his personality. You were a prude as a kid" Obito said with a smirk. Kakashi just decided to act like he didn't hear him, and spoke.

"It seems like there's only one male member of Team Minato that can't get a girl to like them. That's unfortunate isn't it sensei? He'll never know what it's like to be with a woman" Kakashi asked mockingly.

"Now you hold on a minute, I am more than capable of getting a female if I wanted one. You understand that Kakashi?" Obito asked walking towards the masked nin.

"Did you hear that Sensei? I could've sworn that I heard the voice of a virgin somewhere around here" Kakashi said looking around.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Obito yelled in outrage.

Minato chuckled at the familiarity of the situation, with Kakashi teasing Obito and Obito trying to start a fight with him.

"Alright, enough you two. Obito, while I may not approve of your life choices, I can't completely blame you for your decisions. It's my fault as a sensei that I couldn't find you, and because of my inability to do so, Madara was able to manipulate you and how you view the world. I also blame myself for Rin's death. I shouldn't of let them go by themselves and when I learned that Rin got captured, I sent Kakashi alone when I should've went with him. I just hope that you two can forgive me for my faults as a sensei" Minato said.

Obito and Kakashi stopped arguing and looked at each other in confusion at their sensei's words.

"What did you say?" They asked simultaneously.

Minato opened his mouth to repeat what he said, but he was stopped by Kakashi.

"Don't repeat it, we heard you. It's just that we couldn't believe it. Do you honestly believe that any of what happened was your fault?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure you wasn't there to save Rin or I, but that was because you were busy doing other things that benefited the Village. You can't blame yourself for what happened when you wasn't even aware of what was going on" Obito said.

Minato was surprised. He looked at the two men that he used to train when they were kids and gave them both a genuine smile.

"Thank you for that. Now that we got that out of the way, I'd like to meet the woman that's pregnant with your child Kakashi" Minato said.

"Yeah, Me too. I have to see who managed to tame someone like you" Obito said with a smirk.

Kakashi rolled his eyes but none the less agreed, and with that, the three males left the Hokage Mountain and headed back towards the village in search of Hanare.

XxXxXx

Later that night, Hashirama met Naruto and Sasuke in the Forest of Death. They had agreed to meet there because of the fact that no one ever went there, so their departure would go unnoticed. It was Hashirama's idea, however, he had not factored in the overwhelming size of Sasuke's Perfect Susanno.

"Alright Sasuke, activate your Susanno so that we can fly over to Madara's location. We have to be discreet about this if we don't want the others to wake up and follow our chakra trail" Hashirama said.

Sasuke just sighed and tried one last time to talk Naruto and Hashirama out of their plan of talking to Madara.

"We don't have to do this. We can still go back to the Uchiha District and think of a plan that actually has a chance of working. What do you say?" Sasuke asked but his plea fell on deaf ears as Naruto and Hashirama both gave him blank stares.

Sasuke sighed in defeat before rolling his eyes and motioned for Naruto and Hashirama to get close to him. As soon as they got close enough, Sasuke activated his Mangekyou and summoned the Susanno.

Naruto looked on in amazement as the Avatar grew in size until it dwarfed even the tallest tree in the Forest of Death. He could see the entire Village from his vantage point.

"Hurry up and get above the clouds, so that we won't be seen" Hashirama said, but Sasuke was already in the air doing just that. He was a shinobi after all, so he knew the importance of stealth.

Once they were safely out of the Village, Hashirama and Naruto relaxed. A few hours passed of Hashirama and Naruto small talk before Sasuke looked back at them for a moment and interrupted.

"We'll be landing in five minutes, Madara has also activated his Susanno and is flying to intercept us as I tell you this. So I ask this question with the upmost urgency, do either of you know what you're going to say to him when we land?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto and Hashirama looked at each other before they looked back at Sasuke.

"I'll figure it out when we get there" The two Ashura incarnates said simultaneously causing Sasuke to growl in annoyance.

"Of course you will" Sasuke said before he caught sight of a blue figure out in the distance.

Sasuke quickly changed their direction of flight and headed towards the ground just in case there would be some kind of confrontation. Sasuke landed first and then a few moments later another Susanno nearly identical to his, the only difference being the blue color instead of the purple color, landed in front of them. There, Madara Uchiha was with his two Rinnegan eyes shining a vibrant purple and an almost happy smirk on his face.

"When I was brought back to life the last person I expected to see was you Hashirama, but I'm glad that you're here as well. Maybe now we can pick up where we left off all those years ago" Madara said eyes focused on Hashirama.

"Madara, we did not come here to fight. We just wanted to talk to you" Hashirama replied.

Madara raised his eyebrow in disbelief at his old friend's words. He couldn't believe that they had actually traveled all the way from the relative safety of the leaf, just to talk to him, the person who planned to imprison the entire world an in everlasting Genjutsu.

"That is such an idiotic idea. It's been so long that I had forgotten how your mind works sometimes. What makes you think that we have anything that we need to talk about?" Madara asked as he looked around and finally noticed the two teenagers that accompanied his former best friend and long time rival.

Hashirama chuckled nervously and Madara rolled his eyes at his antics. It seemed that somethings never changed, but when he felt the presence inside of Naruto he smirked, satisfied that the Nine Tails was within his grasp. He was going to attack so that he could take it, but he was too curious about the Uchiha that was with them. He looked almost exactly like his brother Izuna Uchiha and that unnerved him.

"I see that you've brought the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki here for me, but who's the Uchiha Boy? He's seems to have unlocked his Eternal Mangekyou and his Susanno is almost a carbon copy of mine" Madara asked looking at Sasuke who returned his glare unflinchingly.

Madara was amused by Sasuke's refusal to back down from making eye contact with him, and he was inwardly impressed at the young Uchiha.

Sasuke tightened his grip on Kusanagi as he continued to look into the eyes of his killer in his past life. A few moments of silence passed before he opened his mouth to speak.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last survivors of the great Uchiha Clan. I am also the only one out of us that said that this was a bad idea, but now that we're here, I dare you to make a move towards us. I promise you that it'll be the last thing that you'll ever do" Sasuke said as he continued to glare at Madara.

"Oh it's a promise is it? That's tough talk from a brat. Would you like to back it up" Madara asked with a smirk on his face as he crossed his arms.

"Go ahead and make a move. I'm ready anytime you are" Sasuke replied evenly.

The two Uchiha's entered a standoff where both were glaring at each other as if daring the other to make the first move. Sasuke moved an inch and just like that, both he and Madara's Susanno swords were drawn and pointed at each other hovering only an inch or so in front of their faces. Neither Sasuke nor Madara blinked or backed away, they just continued to size each other up, with their chakra swirling violently around them.

Seeing that the situation was quickly devolving into a fight that they didn't come for, Naruto and Hashirama both spoke up to try to put an end the Uchiha staring contest.

"Madara enough, we just wanted to talk to you" Hashirama said.

"Yeah Sasuke, stop trying to start a fight with this guy. Let's just give him a chance to explain himself" Naruto said.

' _ **Enough? Since when has Hashirama ever told me what to do? And a chance to explain myself? The Jinchuuriki has obviously lost his mind. I don't need to explain my actions to anyone, let alone two brats and an depressed idiot. This discussion will only end in me obtaining the Nine Tails and killing everyone else. Though, I'll be sure to enjoy my fight with Hashirama before I seal him away'**_ Madara thought to himself.

' _ **Those idiots. Don't they realize that Madara can't be reasoned with. Why don't they understand that he'll attack us as soon as this so called conversation has concluded. Am I really the only one with common sense?'**_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Neither he or Madara paid attention to what Hashirama and Naruto had said as they continued to glare at one another.

After a few more moments of an intense stare down between Sasuke and Madara; Madara decided that he would humor Hashirama since he hadn't seen him in such a long time. He was in a good mood.

"Fine Hashirama, I promise that I'll have this little discussion with you and the two teenagers, but only if Sasuke here, deactivates his Sharingan" Madara said.

Hashirama and Naruto gave Madara a grateful look while Sasuke looked at Madara as if the man had grown a second head.

"Are you insane? Do you really think that I'd deactivate my Sharingan while knowing that I can be in danger at any moment. You must be even more insane then I originally believed" Sasuke said.

"What's wrong Sasuke? Don't trust me to keep my word?" Madara taunted.

"No I don't. That shouldn't be a surprise to you" Sasuke snapped back. Madara clicked his teeth and shook his head in disappointment.

"You should know as well as I do that an Uchiha never goes back on their word. That's something that has been engraved in the clan since before my time. I'm sure that you were taught that as well" Madara said.

Sasuke frowned. He had been taught that, but Madara only promised to have the discussion with them. He didn't promise that he wouldn't attack them, and that was a chance that Sasuke couldn't take.

"I'll agree to your terms if you agree to mine" Sasuke said.

Madara looked at Sasuke for a moment partially impressed that the teen had enough guts to tell him such a thing, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Very well, state your stipulation" Madara said.

Sasuke thought for a moment for something that would even out the odds if a fight were to break out. He knew his stipulation when he remembered the dangers of the the purple eyes Madara had.

"Deactivate your Rinnegan" Sasuke said.

"Sorry but that is impossible because it cannot be deactivated. The Rinnegan is the ultimate Dojutsu and is incapable of ever being released. Once you achieve the eye, you're stuck with it. Anything else?" Madara asked.

Sasuke once again thought for a moment. If he couldn't power Madara down to his level then maybe he could insure that he wouldn't attack them.

"I want you to swear on your Uchiha name that you won't attack us when the conversation is over. That you'll just let us leave when we finish saying what we have to say" Sasuke said.

Madara went quiet in thought and the other three men all looked at him apprehensively as they waited on his response.

Madara was planning on attacking them when the conversation concluded, but he was far too interested in Sasuke to kill him at that moment. He could afford to wait, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he achieved his goals anyway, so he had nothing to lose by making the promise to Sasuke.

After a few more moments of going over every possible scenario in his head, Madara responded.

"I, Madara Uchiha, swear on my Uchiha name that I will not attack anyone of you when this conversation is over tonight..." Madara said making Hashirama smile at him and Naruto let out a sigh of relief, but Sasuke could tell that the man wasn't done.

"...But I also promise that the next time I cross paths with any of you, will be the day that you all die" Madara finished. Hashirama's smile turned into a small frown and Naruto's eyes narrowed at Madara.

Sasuke nodded in acceptance knowing that it was the best case scenario that he could hope for, and simultaneously the two Uchiha deactivated their Susanno, with Sasuke deactiving his Sharingan completely.

Madara casually sat down with his arm on his knee as he relaxed himself. Now that he had promised that he wouldn't attack, he knew that they wouldn't attack him either, so he decided to get comfortable if he was going to listen to whatever they had to say to him.

"Okay now that that's out of the way, lets talk. We have much to discuss" Hashirama said while sitting down next to Madara as if they hadn't tried to kill each other multiple times.

The weirdest thing to Sasuke was that Madara didn't even seem to mind Hashirama's close proximity to him, even though he had casually said that he still planned on killing them all the next time he saw them.

He concluded that Madara and Hashirama acted far too much like he and Naruto did, but that probably started off as an Ashura/Indra thing originally, so maybe it was just imprinted in their DNA.

"Speak your mind Hashirama, and do try to get to the point. I don't want to hear any usual mindless babble from you" Madara said causing Hashirama to look at him in shock before he pouted.

"Is it really mindless?" Hashirama asked with a pout as a storm cloud seemed to float above him. Naruto gently patted his back for comfort.

Madara let out a smirk at the familiar scene of Hashirama pouting before he decided to ignore him completely and turn his head back towards Sasuke, who had opted to remain standing.

"So since we decided to have this conversation and I have a feeling that you're the only one other than me here with a functioning brain; I have a question to ask you" Madara said.

"Hn. Go ahead and ask, but don't expect me to give you any information that you could use to harm us with" Sasuke said.

Madara smirked, expecting a comment like that, before he spoke up again.

"Why is it that I feel an undeniable connection between you and I. Like a strange sense of familiarity that I can't quite put my finger on. It's almost like I know you" Madara said.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. It would've been unnoticeable to anyone else, but Madara caught it.

"Judging by you're reaction to my question, you seem to know the reason why this is. I would be grateful if you'd tell me. It would get rid of this nagging feeling that I'm experiencing" Madara said.

Sasuke thought for a moment about whether or not he should tell him, but before he could reach a solid conclusion, Naruto spoke up.

"You have that feeling because you and Sasuke are both incarnates of the Sage of Six Paths oldest son, Indra Otsutsuki" Naruto said.

Sasuke gave Naruto his fiercest glare to silence him from revealing more information, but unfortunately Naruto wasn't the only one willing to discuss this topic with Madara.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Madara. We are all reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths two children. You and Sasuke are Indra incarnates and Naruto and I are Ashura incarnates. It's the main reason why we can never seem to see eye to eye despite the fact that we're so close" Hashirama said.

Madara looked confused and gave Sasuke a look that said 'Explain'. Sasuke sighed not believing that he'd have to explain this story to Madara of all the people. The same person who took his own sword and killed him with it. Sasuke then spent the next ten minutes telling Madara the same story that he told Hashirama. When he finished the story, Madara looked more than a little skeptical and that annoyed Sasuke.

"What I say is true, but you don't have to believe us. Just feel out your chakra and you'll see for yourself" Sasuke said with a shrug.

Madara cautiously did as he was instructed and soon enough he could feel a person being manifested out of his chakra. He looked back to see the person that looked eerily similar to himself and immediately knew that that was Indra Otsutsuki, but this revelation just filled him with more questions.

"Wait, so your basically me?" Madara asked looking at Sasuke.

"Hn. I wouldn't say it quite like that, we may share a bond far beyond blood ties because of our status as Indra's incarnates, but I wouldn't go as far as to say we're anywhere close to being the same person" Sasuke said.

"In any case, if we're both Indra incarnates then why are you not on my side? I know that somewhere inside you, you can understand me and agree with my methods, so why do you still fight with the idiots?" Madara asked.

"HEY!" Naruto and Hashirama yelled at the same time, but both Sasuke and Madara ignored them.

"Its not that I don't understand your methods, it's just that I have people that I want to protect, and if I help you achieve your goal then there's a good chance that they could get hurt in the process. I don't want that, so I can't let you win" Sasuke said. Madara scoffed.

"You haven't severed your bonds with them yet? How did you obtain such power without sacrificing someone that you love? We both know that that is the only way for an Uchiha to reach the level of power that we have" Madara said.

"I've lost more than you'll ever know Madara. I'm tired of losing people close to me, and I refuse to stand idly by and watch it happen again" Sasuke said as a little bit of emotion laced his voice.

"I see. It's unfortunate that we can't see eye to eye and band together as Indra incarnates. We'd truly be an unstoppable force and we'd finally be able to bring peace to the world. There would be no more senseless fighting, no more worlds where children have to fight and die for their clans and villages but you want to stop all of that because of the fact that your unwilling to sever your bonds" Madara said.

Madara's words shocked both Naruto and Sasuke because they didn't think that Madara would care about anyone else.

"But your goal is to trap everyone in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. How can you say that you want to help the world if that Jutsu would just imprison everyone in it and force them into an eternal Genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"That's just it Jinchuuriki. No one would ever die, and the only thing that they would know is their idea of a perfect existence. It would be like everyone's own personal paradise. The only person that will be left is me. I will live in this flawed world by myself while the rest of humanity enjoys their days in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. A few people may have to be sacrificed but it's for the greater good, if people wanna hate me for it then so be it" Madara said.

Hashirama looked at Madara in shock. This was the first time that he had ever heard of Madara's plan, but the fact that he was planning on being alone, while the rest of humanity lived out their perfect realities showed that Madara wasn't nearly as evil as Tobirama or most people thought.

In many ways, he was still that boy that he used to skip stones and dream of a better world with. The harshness of the world just forced him to think that he needed to go to the extremes to achieve such things.

"Madara..." Hashirama whispered.

Sasuke was shocked at how similar his and Madara's thought process was. At one point in time, Sasuke had been exactly what Madara was. He wanted peace so badly that he was willing to force it on everyone, even if that meant that he wouldn't get to enjoy it himself.

"Shut it Hashirama. I don't need nor want your pity" Madara said.

"But you don't have to be alone. We can find another way to achieve peace. The threat of this war alone has caused the Five Great Shinobi Nations to form an alliance just so that we can stand a chance against you. This could be the start of a peaceful shinobi world for the future, and when I take over as Hokage, I know that I'll do the best that I can to make sure that they're is no more fighting, and I know that Sasuke and our friends will be right by side. If anyone tries something then we'll just kick their ass and force them to be good" Naruto said.

Madara smirked and almost laughed at Naruto's childish and naive way of thinking.

"It may be true that the shinobi nations have formed an alliance to deal with me, but what do you think will happen after the conclusion of the war? The alliance will immediately cease, and then it'll be a mad scramble for all the spoils of war, which could lead to more conflict between the Villages. It's a never ending cycle of violence that won't stop by simply 'kicking the ass' of everyone not willing to comply with your peace" Madara said.

"That's why we can work together. With both sets of the Indra and Ashura pairings working together there's bound to be something that we can do that can achieve our goals" Hashirama said as he looked at his friend hopefully.

Madara looked away from Hashirama and was quiet for a long time. He seemed to be in deep thought and for a moment, Sasuke had a slight amount of hope that Madara would give it a chance, and abandon his plan.

Madara looked back at his only friend and Hashirama could see the slight amount of regret in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but it is too late for something like that to work. More drastic measures have to be taken, no matter the costs" Madara said to Hashirama before he looked to Sasuke and Naruto.

"You have both shown me your guts, and I can say with the upmost sincerity that I respect you, however, I will still need to extract the Nine Tails from you Naruto. I hope you survive to see paradise, but if not then I will give you a proper burial. Sasuke, I hope that you will not intervene, but if you insist on getting in my way then I will have to kill you as well. It's unfortunate that it has to come to this, but I have simply ran out of options" Madara said.

Sasuke, Naruto and Hashirama all gave Madara solemn looks before Hashirma placed a hand on Madara's shoulder and squeezed it before he got up and walked towards Sasuke and Naruto.

"Just think about what we said Madara. We're here to help you" Hashirama said as he nodded at Sasuke.

Sasuke activated his Mangekyou and soon his purple Susanno stood tall in the empty field where the conversation took place. Naruto, Hashirama and Sasuke were all in the head crest, but Madara's eyes were locked on to Sasuke's.

The two stared at each other for a few moments silently having a battle of wills before Sasuke's chakra flared and the Susanno took off back in the direction of Konoha.

Madara just watched fly away with endless thoughts on his brain. He soon activated his own Susanno and flew back towards his base to go over their conversation thoroughly. There were a lot of new developments that he had to think about.

 **TBC**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! I know you PM'ed me asking for more Madara scenes and I hope I didn't disappoint.**

 **The Unkown Uchia- I have no plans to end it in the next few chapters.**

 **Dominiknoxi- I'm glad that you improve of Sasuke now lol and yeah I've always thought that Kirin was super OP so I made it super OP in my fic. Thank for the compliments on the Sannin scenes, I'm just glad that I could write them in a way that people enjoy. And thank you for the love from the Philippines! That means a lot! I'll make sure that I never keep y'all waiting too long for an update again without some sort of notice.**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Hizashi never died and to be honest I forgot all about Dan. Oops lol and I thought that Izuna died during the Senju/Uchiha feud before the leaf was founded? I don't think his body would be in the leaf village right? You can correct me if I'm wrong.**

 **That one Kitsune- Its nice hearing that my story is capable of improving your mood when you're having a bad day. Thank you for all the support and I actually just found out yesterday that I did pretty well on my finals. Thank you! And I love all of y'all as well! Without you there's no guarantee I would've made it to 36 chapters.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I have to add at least a little comedy in every chapter lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Splaaash-attack- Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please don't be shy to say what you feel and don't be nervous to send your suggestions. If you don't want to review them then my PMs are also open. Please continue to Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	37. Preparing for War

**Chapter 37**

After returning to the village and saying their goodbyes to Hashirama, Naruto and Sasuke returned to their house to see that Hinata, Itachi, and Obito were all awake and sitting on the couches in the living room.

After hearing the door open, all three shinobi jumped to their feet with their Dojutsu activated as they scanned Sasuke and Naruto for any injuries. When they realized that they were fine, Sasuke decided to speak up.

"Uh what are you guys doing awake at this hour?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi and Obito both narrowed their eyes at the youngest Uchiha and the combined force of their glares made Sasuke feel a little uneasy.

"Don't act like you don't know the answer to your own question Sasuke. Hinata told us all about the little field trip that you took to the Akatsuki Base, so that you could speak with Madara. I thought we all agreed that that was a terrible idea, so what possessed you to do something so foolish?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke's eyes widened before he gave Hinata a look of betrayal, but she wasn't having any of it.

"I had to tell them. You can't expect me to keep such a thing a secret when its possible that my best friend and boyfriend were both in danger" Hinata said.

"Yeah she told us, so now that you know that, tell us how your meeting with Madara went. Neither of you two are hurt, so thats a good thing, but it also makes me feel uneasy. Madara isn't known to waste opportunities so whatever you discussed must've really made him think if he let you escape with no injuries" Obito said.

Sasuke couldn't believe that Hinata had ratted him out, but he understood where she was coming from so he wasn't too mad. He just didn't know how to explain what had happened to them. He still hasn't fully digested what happened himself, so he was at a lost on how to explain it to the others. Luckily, or unluckily depending on perspective, Naruto didn't have the same problem.

"We just told him that we wanted to talk and after a little bit of thought he agreed that he wouldn't attack us and that he would listen to what we had to say. Then the Bastard told him the story of Indra and Ashura. After that, Madara said that we showed him our insides or something and that he now respected us" Naruto said with a proud smile.

It was his idea to talk to Madara and it turned out to be a good idea. The man was obviously conflicted as far as he could tell, so Naruto considered the trip to be a success. Sasuke just glared at him for his mundane retelling of what happened.

Hinata had a slight look of hope in her eyes, but Obito and Itachi both knew that there was more to the story that Naruto either decided to leave out or just simply didn't pay attention too. They didn't believe for one second that Madara was as cooperative as Naruto was making it seem, and the look that they gave Sasuke said as much.

"What is Naruto leaving out?" The two older Uchiha's asked simultaneously. Naruto looked offended by the question, but Sasuke just rolled his eyes at Naruto before addressing them.

"Madara and I sized each other up for a moment with our Susanno's activated and he refused to talk to us until I agreed to his terms. It was a very tense moment and I honestly had every intention of attacking him because I knew that he'd likely attack us when the conversation was over, but he swore on his Uchiha name that he wouldn't attack us, so I deactivated my Sharingan as he requested" Sasuke said.

"YOU WHAT! How could you do something so foolish Sasuke!?" Itachi yelled.

Sasuke was about to defend himself for his decision, but he didn't need to.

"Sasuke isn't stupid. It was probably the only course of action that he could take to prevent a brawl from breaking out between them and Madara. Sasuke wouldn't do anything without a good reason" Hinata said coming to Sasuke's defense.

Sasuke gave her a grateful look before continuing to retell the discussion that they had with Madara.

"Madara had insulted Hashirama which rendered him useless and the Loser went to comfort him, so Madara decided to ask me about why he felt a connection between us. That's when I explained the story of Indra and Ashura. After that he wanted me to join his side and achieve the goal of a worldwide peace his way. He alone would be the only one that would have to suffer while the rest of the world would live in their version of perfection. When I refused he was visibly upset, but he still promised that he wouldn't kill me unless I interfered with his plans and he even hoped that Naruto survived the Jinchuuriki removal process because we showed him our 'guts'" Sasuke said.

Itachi and Obito were silent for a moment and Hinata was giving Sasuke a sympathetic look. No one said anything for a moment before Obito spoke up.

"Our clan has really been cursed from the beginning. We're seen as the bad guys even though we usually have nothing but good intentions. Sure sacrifices would have to be made, but the end result more than justifies the means right?" Obito asked.

Sasuke and Itachi both looked at Obito with their Sharingan activated. It sounded to them that he was reverting back to his old ways. They wouldn't want to have to attack him, but they would if they had too. As if reading their minds, Obito quickly spoke again.

"Hey don't look at me like that. I'm not saying that I'm going to turn on you guys or anything, I'm just saying that you can't deny that what he's saying makes a lot of sense, and it definitely has its upsides. The only one who really suffers is Madara, thats just something to think about" Obito said appeasingly.

"I agree that it makes sense, but there are other ways to get peace besides putting everyone into a giant Genjutsu. I still think that my idea is the best one" Naruto said.

Itachi, Obito and Hinata all looked at Naruto with sweat drops on their foreheads. They couldn't imagine what Naruto's plan for peace was, and they were almost afraid to ask, but eventually Hinata's curiosity overwhelmed her.

"What is your plan for peace Naruto?" Hinata asked with a kind smile on her face, even though she was bracing herself for whatever kind of answer came out of his mouth.

Naruto gave a big smile at her before responding.

"We simply tell everyone to be friends and stop the violence and if they refuse then we'll kick their ass"

Hinata, Itachi and Obito all hit the floor in shock at Naruto's words. They couldn't believe that he would say something so simple. There was no way that he was serious about that plan, but one look at Sasuke's annoyed face let them know that Naruto was dead serious.

"That sounds nice in theory, but you have to know that it won't be that simple. We can't just beat someone up because they don't agree with our ideals" Itachi said trying to talk some sense into Naruto.

"Why not? Who could stop all of us if we work together? They wouldn't have any choice but to get along if they don't want to get their asses kicked" Naruto said.

Itachi internally agreed with Naruto's point. The leaf definitely had the strongest shinobi, and it was almost guaranteed that Gaara would align himself with them, so it was very unlikely that anyone would actually be able to stand up to their combined might, but they couldn't just force others to do what they say. It wasn't right.

"I understand where your coming from, but it isn't right. You wanna be Hokage right? You're not thinking like one right now" Itachi said.

Naruto pouted but nodded at Itachi's words. He knew that it wouldn't be very Hokage-like to beat up people who didn't do what he said.

"So is the time for questions over? I'd really like to get to sleep sometime soon" Sasuke said trying to keep the exhaustion out of his tone.

Itachi and Obito looked at each other for a moment before nodding at Sasuke.

"You're excused, we can discuss this in more detail later on when everyone has had a goodnight's sleep" Obito said.

"Finally" Sasuke said as he scooped Hinata up, causing her to squeak and blush, before he headed towards his room.

Naruto, Itachi and Obito would've normally teased Sasuke for this, but they were all tired as well, so they all went to their respective rooms with the same thought on their minds.

' _ **I'll tease him about it tomorrow'**_

XxXxXx

A week passed and Madara's thoughts were still plagued by his conversation with Hashirama, Naruto and Sasuke.

He could understand their view of things, but he truly believed that his way was the only way that could possibly work in this corrupted Shinobi system. He doubted that the other shinobi would be swayed by mere words or simple threats, so forcing peace on them through the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the best course of action.

However, Hashirama's words were definitely something that deserved to be thought about more.

The two sets of Indra and Ashura incarnates were amongst the strongest shinobi on the planet and no one would be able to stand against their combined might. Not only that, but it would be possible for Madara to have comrades again.

He had never really had any real friends except for Hashirama, and even everyone in his own clan betrayed him in the end. Madara had to admit that the prospect of having comrades again was definitely a appealing one.

' _ **Wait a minute, what am I thinking? I don't care about trivial things like that; I just need to focus on achieving my goals. I can't believe that I'm even entertaining their nonsense'**_ Madara thought to himself with a frown forming on his face.

Trying to get his mind off of the conversation with the other incarnates, Madara called Kabuto into the room. The man had just returned from gathering the DNA samples from Suna and Madara wanted to know the status of his army.

"Do you have all of the most powerful deceased shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi nations?" Madara asked the snake like man.

"Yes, with the exception of the Konoha shinobi that we lost in battle, I have amassed the remaining useful shinobi from the other villages and they're all ready to attack whenever you give the order" Kabuto replied.

"Good. Split the shinobi up and send them out to attack Konoha and Suna. I want the last two Jinchuuriki captured as soon as possible" Madara said.

"No offense Madara, but that plan is stupid and destined to fail" Kabuto said.

Madara's violet eyes flashed as he glared at Kabuto. Kabuto gulped, he knew that he probably should've phrased that differently and he quickly tried to rectify his mistake.

"What I mean is the Great Shinobi Alliance has already split up into groups and they are advancing towards us probably as we speak. I just think that it would be smarter if you sent the whole army at one group and take them out that way" Kabuto said

Hearing this made Madara calm down significantly and while he knew that Kabuto's plan would probably be the most effective to achieve his goals quicker, but he had just been brought back to life and his thirst for battle made him want to face the strongest warriors himself rather than ambush them with his army.

' _ **Hm maybe there is a way to destroy the entire alliance while also allowing me to quench my desire to have a good battle'**_ Madara thought to himself as he turned towards Kabuto.

"Do you happen to know how the groups have been split?" Madara asked.

"In fact I do. I managed to get a peek at the list of the shinobi battle groups while the Kazekage was… preoccupied with one of his guests" Kabuto said with his face slightly coloring at the memory.

 **Flashback**

Kabuto had just finished raiding the Suna burial ground and figured that he might as well check the Kazekage's office to see if there were any loose documents that could be useful for him.

He summoned a small snake to enter the office in order to avoid detection, but he didn't expect the snake to return with anything considering that the Kazekage was one of the most attentive shinobi in all of the Great nations. He didn't even expect the summon to return to him because he thought that Gaara would dispose of it.

He was a little more than surprised when his summon returned with a completed list of shinobi assignments for the entire Shinobi Alliance. He read through the list of assignments with a smirk on his face until he came across the name 'Orochimaru'.

"I guess I was right about Orochimaru-sama being alive… this surely complicates things. I'll have to find a way to help him without being discovered by Madara" Kabuto mused to himself as he memorized the rest of the list.

When Kabuto was done he decided to stealthily return the list to Gaara himself. He could've had the summon do it but he was genuinely curious as to why his snake was able to slip past the usually attentive Kage.

' _ **Gaara must've been involved in something pretty serious if he didn't have his guard up. I have to see what it could be'**_ Kabuto thought to himself as he scaled the Kazekage tower and peeked in through the office window.

He almost lost his grip and fell, as he was utterly unprepared for the sight that greeted him. Gaara was completely naked with an also naked girl that he vaguely remembered from the Chunin Exams riding him.

Kabuto's face heated up as he quickly dropped the papers near the window before he fled away from the Kazekage Tower and out of Suna with the image of young couple burned in his mind.

"D-Did you hear something?" Gaara stuttered with his sand whirling around him.

"No I didn't now focus on the task at hand" Ino responded in a raspy voice as she continued to ride him.

Gaara could've sworn that he heard something, but with Ino's continued ministrations he was quickly lost to the pleasure once again.

 **End Flashback**

"Well are you going to tell me or are you just going to stare at me with that idiotic look on your face?" Madara asked raising an eyebrow.

Kabuto was obviously remembering something about his trip to Suna, but Madara didn't care enough to let the man reflect in peace.

"Hurry up. I want to know which group would be the most fun for me to attack personally" Madara said clearly running out of patience.

Kabuto snapped back to reality as he thought about the list that he read. It didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion about which group Madara would prefer to attack. It just so happened to be the only group that needed to be attacked in the first place.

"You'll probably have the most fun attacking the First Division since they have most of the really powerful shinobi and they are the ones who are going to be charging straight to our current location, but I'd advise you not to attack them alone for I don't even think you have enough power to defeat all of them" Kabuto said.

This statement made Madara's blood boil with excitement as the prospect of a worthy challenge arose. Kabuto's warning was annoying but it definitely got him more interested.

"Is that so? Tell me, who makes up the First Company?" Madara asked.

"First Company Consists of…"

XxXxXx

"First Company consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Neji Hyuuga, Hiashi Hyuuga, Hizashi Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno, Haku, Zabuza Momochi, Kakashi Hatake, Team Taka, Kisame Hoshigaki, Minato Namikaze, Hashirama Senju, Might Gai, Onoki, Darui, and their captain Gaara Subaku. Hiashi and Hizashi were last minute additions as they came into my office and personally asked me to place them on this task force last night" Tsunade announced to the thousands of shinobi assembled in front of her.

Gasps of shock could be heard at Tsunade's announcement. This was an extremely powerful group of shinobi that consisted of Kages, both current and resurrected, three former Akatsuki members, one of the strongest Jonin from Kumogakure and most of the leaf's most powerful shinobi. One could only imagine what this groups job is, but before the question could arise, the Raikage spoke up.

"This group's objective is too assault Madara Uchiha headfirst and neutralize him by any means necessary, but I'm sure that we all can agree on the fact that killing Madara would be the best course of action"

Whispers of disbelief spread through the crowd. There was a lot of skepticism on the decision making behind this team.

"I get that Madara Uchiha was strong, but this seems like a bit much"

"Four Kages in one company? Shouldn't they be spread out throughout the entire army?"

Tobirama over heard the idiotic comments made from some of the shinobi in the alliance and quickly lost his patience.

"Quiet! I can't believe that the lot of you are underestimating the power of Madara Uchiha so greatly. Do you not understand that he could probably do away with most of you in an instant if he chose to? The shinobi of this era have no common sense. You should count yourselves lucky that you weren't assigned to this unit for if you were then you would almost surely die before the real fight even starts" he snapped as he flared his chakra around the area.

Everyone went deathly silent after Tobirama's declaration. Some braced themselves in case that Tobirama attacked and some were genuinely afraid of the chakra that he was emitting but no one spoke again. Then a loud laugh was heard, breaking the silence.

"Please don't mind my brother" Hashirama started as he placed his hand on Tobirama's shoulder "he can be pretty intense when Madara's involved with anything, but he is right. Every shinobi assigned to the group are needed to take down Madara"

The First Hokage's words eased the tension that the shinobi felt after Tobirama's words, but there were still skeptics.

"But why are they needed? Didn't you defeat Madara by yourself all those years ago when you were both alive? Why can't you do it again now?" A random leaf villager asked.

Hashirama sighed. It was a valid question and he honestly would've been thinking that he could take Madara alone too if he hadn't went with Naruto and Sasuke to talk to him. Madara was already his equal before, but now that he had the Rinnegan; Hashirama wasn't a hundred percent sure that he could defeat him on his own.

Sensing that her grandfather was deep in thought, Tsunade spoke up once again.

"Enough with the questions. I'm not done announcing the assignments for every shinobi here, so listen for your name. Second Company consists of…"

XxXxXx

Hinata tuned out Tsunade's words as she stared at the Sannin in shock. She had anticipated being placed on the task force assigned to attack Madara due to the fact that Sasuke's name had been called first, but she didn't anticipate neither her father or her uncle also being assigned.

Her father was the Hyuuga head and regardless of his prowess as a shinobi; it was extremely risky to place him in the frontlines of any conflict. Let alone a battle with the infamous Madara Uchiha. Hinata was uneasy to say the least, and she was going to voice her concerns.

She looked over to where her father and uncle were and realized that the rest of the Hyuuga Clan must've shared her concerns over the placement as they had all crowded around the two to ask them to reconsider their decision.

"Please Hiashi-sama, Hizashi please don't do this" a random branch member said.

"Yeah, who's going to lead us into battle if you two are battling Madara with Neji and Hinata?" Ko asked.

"You are more than capable enough to lead the rest of the clan in battle Ko" Hiashi responded simply.

"That may be true, but why did you volunteer to fight Madara Uchiha head on with us? Don't you know that's the most dangerous battle in this entire war?" Neji asked.

Hinata was about to voice her agreement but when both Hiashi and Hizashi's heads both snapped towards Neji, she decided that it would be smarter to stay quiet. A moment later her uncle spoke.

"We know that better than anyone Neji, that's why we asked to be assigned to this mission"

Neji's mouth opened to respond, but before he could get a word out Hiashi spoke up.

"Do you truly think that we would just allow you and Hinata to face that monster without us there to support you? Do you think that lowly of your fathers" He asked with an accusing tone.

Hinata and Neji were both rendered speechless by the Clan Head's words. Both Hiashi and Hizashi were very proud men, so the last statement was basically him confessing how much they really cared about them.

"…But it still doesn't explain why you asked Tsunade-sama to add you last night. Neither Hinata nor I knew that we were going to be assigned to attack Madara until Lord Fifth's announcement a few minutes ago. How did you know where we'd be assigned" Neji asked with a confused voice.

The rest of the clan turned to the two brothers equally confused as to how they knew. Hizashi and Hiashi had twin looks of disbelief on their faces as if they'd just been asked what color the sky was.

"It was common sense. Sasuke and Naruto are two of the strongest shinobi in the leaf so they were obviously going to be sent to confront Madara, and since the four of you have been inseparable since you were kids, it was common sense to guess that you'd be placed on a team with them" Hizashi explained.

"And even if that wasn't the case; Sasuke would almost certainly want Hinata by his side during this entire war so that he can keep his eye on her and protect her if necessary. His protectiveness over Hinata is one of the only things that I like about the Uchiha" Hiashi continued.

Hinata blushed slightly at her father's words, but found that she couldn't argue with his logic. That did sound like something that Sasuke would do. Neji and the rest of the clan knew that as well; they've all seen many examples of Sasuke's protectiveness for Hinata over the years, and now that they're older they could only assume that Sasuke's become even more protective.

"You have a valid point… Fine. It's not our place to question your decisions anyway" Neji relented.

With that the rest of the clan no longer questioned Hiashi and Hizashi on their decision. Instead they were proud of them and gained a whole new respect for their leaders.

Hinata was touched by their decision to come with them, but she's had an uneasy feeling ever since Tsunade announced the team.

' _ **It's probably nothing. I should stop worrying so much; I'm sure that it'll be fine.'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she stared at her father and uncle with a bright smile on her face.

XxXxXx

Madara let a smirk adorn his face as Kabuto read off the names of the team that was going to attack him head on. It seemed like he was going to get a real battle after all.

"This is excellent. They've foolishly sent both of the Jinchuuriki that I need straight to me, so I don't have to waste time guessing which battlefield they're on, and they've even made sure that I can have my match with Hashirama. I should thank whoever the leaders of the Shinobi Alliance are. They've done me a huge favor" Madara said with visible excitement on his face as he let his aura flare around him.

Kabuto took a step back, scared by the pure amount of chakra that he could feel emitting from the man, but he still had to ask the obvious question.

"You aren't concerned about the number of powerful shinobi that they're sending after you?" he asked.

"Why should I be?" Madara asked as if it had been a stupid question.

"You have 4 Kages in the group, one of which being the man that defeated you back when you were alive the first time. Not to mention the fact that there are three Uchiha's and Kakashi Hatake, who have all unlocked their Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto is the Jinchuuriki of the strongest tailed beast, Kisame is considered the tailed beast without a tail, Might Gai is most likely the most powerful taijutsu users on the planet, the four Hyuuga that are being sent are the strongest of the Clan, Sakura is the protégé of the Fifth Hokage, Haku is a dangerous shinobi, Zabuza is the demon of the Hidden Mist, Team Taka are three powerful shinobi with unique Kekkei Genkai's and Darui is the right hand man to the Raikage. That's not a group of amateur shinobi by any means" Kabuto said.

"That will make the fight infinitely more interesting. Hashirama is merely a reanimated corpse and I doubt he'd be able to defeat me anyway now that I have the Rinnegan. The rest of the shinobi may be powerful as well, but that just excites me more. Be sure to keep the rest of the shinobi forces far away from our battle; I want to enjoy my fight as I finally achieve my goal" Madara said.

"Okay. Do you want me to leave any of the reanimated shinobi here with you?" Kabuto asked even though he already figured what Madara would say.

"No need. I alone will handle the group that will attack me. Focus the army on the rest of the insignificant shinobi, now go" Madara ordered.

Kabuto inwardly smirked as he thought that Madara's overconfidence would get him killed, but he did what he was told.

After Kabuto left, Madara was alone with his thoughts. He was satisfied that he'd get a great battle, and that he was one step closer to his goal, but he was a little upset that he would most likely have to kill Naruto and Sasuke to do it.

He honestly liked the kids, and the fact that they were incarnates like he and Hashirama meant that he shared a connection with them. It was unfortunate that their lives would probably have to sacrificed to achieve the Perfect Reality, but in the end, Madara was a man that looked at the bigger picture. With their deaths will come the end of the corrupt shinobi system and mark the start of a perfect world.

' _ **This will all be over soon. I'm sure they'll all thank me when there's no more death and struggle. It's finally time to create the Perfect World'**_ Madara thought to himself with a smirk on his face as he prepared for the final battle.

 **TBC**

 **Thank you for everyone who waited for me to return from the camp. It was definitely a different type of experience but it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Now it's back to school and the story. I'm a little rusty, but I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Always feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas and please continue to Read and Review. - Dishon 3**


	38. The Battle Begins

**Chapter 38**

The next day, First Company was officially sent to Amekagure to attack Madara head on. They all had a determined look on their faces and no words were exchanged at first as they all absorbed the difficulty of the task that they had to complete. Eventually though, Hashirama spoke up because they had to discuss strategy and formations.

"I need to know what all of you are capable of. I've seen most of you in battle when the reanimated shinobi attacked the leaf, but there are three of you that I'm meeting for the first time. I want to know all of your skills so that I can maximize the amount of help that you can give us" Hashirama said.

Everyone looked at Hashirama in shock for a moment, but quickly recovered as they described their attack styles.

"I'm an expert in Kenjutsu and I have the ability to use Black Lightning. I also have the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai" Darui said.

"I am Onoki the third Tsuchikage, and the apprentice of the second Tsuchikage. As such I am a master of his 'Particle Style' Technique" Onoki said.

Hashirama looked at Onoki in surprise as he started to realize who he was.

"Oh you are the First Tsuchikage's grandson? The young shinobi who was always around Muu at the early Kage summits? You must be pretty old now aren't you?" Hashirama asked.

"I'm not old at a- OW MY BACK" Onoki said as the loud crack of his back was heard.

Everyone sweat dropped at the spectacle, but there were more important things to worry about than Onoki's back pains.

"I'm the One Tail Jinchuuriki and Fifth Kazekage. This gourd on my back carries my sand, which serves as the ultimate offense and defense. I can also generate more sand from the ground if I need it" Gaara said.

Onoki looked at the giant gourd on Gaara's back in shock before he flew over to him and placed his hand on it. Before Gaara could ask Onoki what he was doing; he felt the older man's chakra flare suddenly.

" **EARTH STYLE: LIGHTENED BOULDER JUTSU"** Onoki shouted as he pushed his chakra on Gaara's gourd. Gaara was a little more than shocked when he noticed that the weight of his sand decreased significantly.

' _ **With Sand this light I could do so much more with my attacks… but why did he do that?'**_ Gaara thought to himself as he looked at Onoki with a shocked expression.

Onoki seemed to know what was on Gaara's mind because he soon spoke his answer.

"You shouldn't have to carry around such a heavy thing on your back all the time. Just in case you make it through this war; you don't want to have a bad back when you get older young Kazekage"

' _ **He's one to talk'**_ Sasuke thought to himself with a small smirk on his face that quickly disappeared when he felt Hinata wack him on the shoulder.

He looked at her at with a shocked look on his face but her glare told him that she knew what he had been thinking. The wack was her way of telling him to behave without actually speaking.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but inwardly knew that she was right. This wasn't the time to tease the old Kage about his hypocrisy.

Hashirama let a smile form on his face. Regardless of what Onoki had said, Hashirama knew that he had likely only helped Gaara to make him more useful when they were going to be fighting Madara, but it was a start. Maybe after the war was over there could still be an alliance throughout the five great shinobi nations, but for now Hashirama still had to tell them the best way for them to be effective in the battle.

"Onoki, I want you to attack Madara from a distance with your particle style attacks. Your ability to fly will prove to be invaluable in this fight. Gaara, I want you provide backup for us. Use your sand to keep Madara off balance, also try not to let him take the One Tail from you. Darui, you will be charging at him with the rest of us. I've heard rumors about the strength of Black Lightning so I expect you to hit him with it whenever you get the chance to" Hashirama said.

Darui, Gaara and Onoki all nodded at Hashirama's words readily accepting their roles with no complaints. Hashirama was grateful for this, but before he could say anything about it; everyone tensed as they felt a huge mass of chakra heading towards them.

"Madara has fired an attack from two hundred meters away and it's closing in fast. Everyone prepare to defend yourselves" Hiashi said as he looked ahead with his Byakugan.

Sasuke and Itachi quickly jumped to the front of the group and activated their Susanno's while a large amount of sand covered everyone else courtesy of Gaara, and not a moment to soon as moments later a large amount of fire consumed the area.

When the smoke cleared everyone was surprised to see that the area had been reduced to little more than a barren wasteland. All of the trees and surrounding area had been completely obliterated by the fire.

"Is everyone okay?" Hashirama asked as Gaara removed his sand barrier.

"Yeah we're fine. Gaara, Itachi and Sasuke did a great job protecting everyone from the attack, so we weren't even hurt" Naruto said.

"That's because it was only a warning shot little Jinchuuriki" a voice said.

Everyone looked up into the sky to see a giant blue Susanno floating there, and right in the center of the Head Crest was Madara Uchiha. He was floating there with an excited smirk on his face as he stared down at everyone with his Rinnegan. He stretched his shoulder for a moment before speaking again.

"Now shall we begin?"

XxXxXx

Elsewhere, Tobirama led second company into battle against some of the reincarnated shinobi. So far it seemed that they had the advantage in the battle, but that changed with the arrival of the Gold and Silver Brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

With the help of their ninja tools and their nine tails chakra they were mowing down shinobi after shinobi and it was beginning to become a problem, so Tobirama took it among himself to get rid of the two.

"Be ready to seal them when I give you the signal" Tobirama said to a random sealing ninja, waiting for him to nod his agreement before he walked out into the lake where they were.

Tobirama stood in front of the two brothers with a frown on his face, and it didn't take long for them to recognize him.

"Look at what we have here Ginkaku. It's the Second Hokage" Kinkaku said with a smirk on his face.

"He must've been reanimated by the other side. I don't know why they sent him to attack us; don't they know that we've already killed him before" Ginkaku responding as they turned their attention towards Tobirama.

Tobirama's frown deepened as he uncrossed his arms and looked at the Brothers.

"You know the difference between our face off now and when we were alive?" Tobirama asked he threw kunai at them and quickly formed hand signs.

" **WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON MISSILE JUTSU"**

The Gold and Silver Brothers braced themselves in order to avoid the technique, but at the last second it splashed into the water in front of them, effectively creating a water screen and shielding Tobirama from their vision.

"This little water screen isn't going to help you survive this battle Second Hokage" Kinkaku said as he and Ginkaku dodged the kunai that were thrown by Tobirama.

"You couldn't hit us with the Kunai even with the jutsu as a distraction" Ginkaku said smugly with his brother laughing beside him, but they both stopped when they noticed that Tobirama was suddenly behind them with two of the kunai that he had thrown before in his hand.

" **FLYING RAIJIN SLICE"** Tobirama said as he decapitated both Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

"Seal them now" Tobirama ordered the shinobi, who quickly did as he was told.

When they were safely sealed away, Tobirama answered his own question.

"This time it was only the two of you. You would've been easy to defeat without the other 20 shinobi surrounding me" Tobirama said as he headed back to the battlefield to deal with more shinobi.

XxXxXx

At another battlefield third company was in the midst of a battle against an army of White Zetsu. It was an incredibly difficult battle, especially because of the fact that the White Zetsu had the ability to turn into any shinobi that it came into contact with. This technique led to allies attacking each other out of confusion and it was quickly reducing their numbers. The Co-Captains Jiraiya and Orochimaru were aware of this and tried to think of a way to combat this.

"This is rather troubling don't you think Jiraiya?" Orochimaru asked as he dispatched a White Zetsu clone.

"You're telling me. These little bastards are tricky and they're somehow able to pull of a perfect transformation jutsu. Even their chakra signatures are identical to the person that they're transforming into. We've got to really be on our toes to avoid taking out our allies" Jiraiya said.

"Hmm yes. It does seem so, but do the lives of the other shinobi really matter all that much? We can just dispose of the lot of them without worrying about who's an ally and who's an enemy" Orochimaru suggested as he pulled a kunai out of another Zetsu's body.

"You can't be serious Orochimaru. Our allies have the same right to live as we do. We cant just go around killing them because we don't want to bother checking if they're Zetsu or not" Jiraiya said as he turned his back to Orochimaru.

"It's regrettable that you still don't see things my way. I guess it cant be helped; you have to die now" Orochimaru said as he swung his Kunai at the unsuspecting Jiraiya.

Then blood flew in the air.

Jiraiya turned around with a surprised look on his face when he saw that Orochimaru's attack was stopped by… Orochimaru.

The fake Orochimaru's kunai was lodged in Orochimaru's hand as he prevented Jiraiya from getting slashed. Jiraiya was at a lost for what to do until the real Orochimaru spoke up.

"Jiraiya you idiot, what are you doing? Dispose of this fake at once" Orochimaru yelled.

An instant later, Jiraiya disposed of the fake with a powerful Rasengan.

"Man I've wanted to do that for a long time" Jiraiya said but he was still tense. He now couldn't even trust that his best friend was himself. Orochimaru turned towards Jiraiya only to see that the man now had another Rasengan ready to be launched.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru asked as if Jiraiya was stupid.

"How do I know that you're the real Orochimaru?" Jiraiya said with a frown on his face. Orochimaru simply raised his eyebrow.

"Do you honestly think another Zetsu would bother saving you? Honestly use your head you idiot and point that Rasengan at your enemies" Orochimaru said.

"I don't know, the other Orochimaru did kill another Zetsu and pulled a kunai out of it. He was also talking about just killing without discrimination which is something that I can see you saying" Jiraiya said.

"Hmm that's actually not a bad idea, but I'd prefer to experiment on them then to kill them. Why waste such prime test subjects" Orochimaru said as he licked his lips at the thought of having so many shinobi with Kekkei Genkai to experiment on.

Jiraiya shivered at the look on Orochimaru's face as he spoke, but he dissolved his Rasengan. Only the real Orochimaru would say something creepy like that.

"I believe that it's really you, but we have to work on that whole experimenting thing that you do. That's not right and you know it" Jiraiya said as he prepared to jump back into battle.

"I've never claimed to be the best person. I thought that I made it clear that the only reason that I'm even fighting on Konoha's side is because I'm following Sasuke. Don't expect me to become a goodie goodie again" Orochimaru said as he stood by Jiraiya's side.

"Sasuke's a good guy so that means that there's hope for you yet, but we'll talk about this later. Right now it seems like a group of Zetsu want to take on two Sannin" Jiraiya said as fifty Zetsu's stood in front of him and Orochimaru.

"Shall we show them why that's a bad idea?" Orochimaru asked as he gathered his chakra causing Jiraiya to smirk.

"For once Orochimaru, I like the way that you think. Lets do this" Jiraiya said as he and Orochimaru charged the Zetsu.

XxXxXx

Madara flew his Susanno down to the ground as he stood in front of the others. His adrenaline was overflowing as he met eyes with every single person in the group.

First Company was a well selected group of Shinobi as far as Madara could tell, this would prove to be quite the entertaining battle. He decided to test out the strength of everyone individually before he attacked them himself.

"Lets see what you've got" Madara said as he created wood style clones that all had a humanoid Susanno around them.

There were just enough of them to negate the numbers advantage that the group had on Madara. He smirked as he gave his clones the order to attack.

The group split up almost immediately to deal with the Madara clones, leaving the real Madara face to face with Hashirama. The rematch that he's been waiting for decades.

"Time that we settle this once and for all Hashirama" Madara said as he held his scythe towards him.

"Are you sure that you won't reconsider? We've been through this before and I'd rather not fight my best friend again" Hashirama replied as he summoned a sword. Madara rolled his eyes before replying.

"Shut up and fight"

"Have it your way" Hashirama sighed as he charged towards Madara and the two's weapons clashed.

XxXxXx

Obito, Kakashi and Gai teamed up to deal with a Madara clone and as of right now they couldn't get close enough to launch a successful attack and were currently on the defensive.

"Any ideas on how to defeat this clone?" Kakashi asked as he dodged another swing of the clone's sword.

"Depends. Do anyone of you have an attack that can break through the Susanno's armor?" Obito asked as he dodged as well.

"I think that I have an attack that could work, but I'd need a suitable distraction to give me time to execute it flawlessly" Gai said.

"So if we give you the distraction then you can break the Susanno's armor?" Kakashi asked uncertainly. Gai nodded.

"The power of youth burns inside of me. I will not fail" he said with fire in his eyes.

Kakashi and Obito looked at each other for a moment before nodding simultaneously. They both turned to look at Madara with their Mangekyou's activated.

"I don't know what you think your Mangekyou can do in this situation Obito. I doubt your little friend there even knows how to use it, and even if he did it wouldn't matter. You're going to learn why it was a bad idea to betray me" the Madara clone said as he swung his sword towards the two.

Kakashi and Obito both waited until the attack got close to them before they simultaneously let their chakra flare.

" **KAMUI"** they said together as the Susanno sword disappeared into a different dimension along with the Susanno's arms. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Obito did the hand signs for another attack.

" **FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU"** Obito said as he fired a large fireball at the Madara clone, but when the smoke cleared Obito saw the Susanno's armor protected the clone from the attack.

"Aww your puny fireball wasn't enough to shatter my Susanno armor. What are you going to do now Obito?" The clone asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show" Obito replied with a smirk on his face as well.

The Madara clone was surprised by the look on Obito's face but it made sense when he suddenly felt a large amount of chakra behind him. He turned around to see Gai, now in the 7th gate, holding his fingers out towards him in the shape of a tiger.

" **DAYTIME TIGER** " Gai shouted as the air pressure from his jab took the form of a giant tiger head and crashed into the Madara clone's Susanno body, shattering it completely.

The clone was shocked but mildly impressed with Gai's taijutsu based attack, but before he could praise him on the attack; the sound of chirping birds filled his ears.

" **CHIDORI"**

He looked down just in time to see Kakashi's fist pierce through his chest and come out through the other side. The teamwork displayed by the three shinobi excited Madara and he laughed for a moment before speaking.

"Impressive you three. I didn't think it'd be that easy for you to defeat a clone, especially without single casualty. I cant wait to actually get to fight you" Madara's clone said before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Gai, Kakashi and Obito all looked at each other as they caught their breaths. They all knew that the Madara clone was right. It was very likely that not everyone would be able to defeat the clones and casualties were likely, but they would try their best to prevent that.

With the unspoken message delivered, they all headed towards the original Madara with the intent on ending this fight as soon as possible.

XxXxXx

Gaara and Darui weren't having much problems blocking the attacks because of Gaara's sand shield, but they were at a stand still because neither of Gaara or Darui's attacks were working on the Susanno.

"Hey Kazekage, do you think that there's a way to drag the body out of the Susanno?" Darui asked from behind Gaara's sand defense.

"I can probably drag him out of the Susanno with my sand, but it would only be for a short amount of time. I doubt that he'd be caught off guard for long" Gaara said.

"That's alright. A second is all I will need" Darui said as Black Lightning circulated around his body.

Gaara looked at Darui in surprise for a moment before smirking and nodding. Gaara dropped the Sand Shield and sent a giant wave of Sand that trapped the Susanno.

"Do you think that this sand can hold me little Jinchuuriki? Well you're mistaken" the Madara clone said as his Susanno easily broke through the Sand.

The clone smirked before he noticed that some of the Sand had wrapped around his feet. He was swiftly pulled out from the safety of the Susanno and placed right in front of Darui, who had a smirk on his face.

" **LIGHTNING STYLE: BLACK PANTHER"** Darui said as his Black Lightning chakra took the form of a black panther before it engulfed the Madara clone and destroyed it completely.

When they were sure that the clone was destroyed, Gaara and Darui let out a breath of relief before agreeing that they would help out Onoki who was forced to face a clone by himself, but before they could head towards him they noticed that Onoki was flying towards them.

When he arrived, he looked around approvingly when he noticed that the clone had been dealt with.

"It seems that you two didn't need my help after all" Onoki said with a satisfied look on his face. Gaara and Darui both had the same shocked look on their faces, and Onoki seemed to pick up on it.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did you seriously think that I wouldn't have been able to handle a simple wood clone?" Onoki asked slightly offended.

"It's not that. We just want to know how you did it so quickly" Gaara said.

'And without dying' Darui added mentally.

"My Particle Style Jutsu made quick work of the Susanno and the rest was child's play. Now stop gawking at me and lets go help the First Hokage defeat the real one" Onoki said before flying in the direction of the others.

Gaara and Darui looked at each other in disbelief for a moment before they shook their heads and headed after Onoki.

XxXxXx

Hiashi and Hizashi were struggling with the Madara clone because of the fact that they didn't have any attacks that could penetrate the Susanno's armor.

Their bodies were littered with bruises from the attacks the Madara clone sent, but it was clear to them that he was simply toying with them.

"This is all that the Hyuuga clan is capable off? Weren't you the clan that always claimed that your Dojutsu was superior to the Sharingan?" The Madara clone mocked as he attacked the two Hyuuga heads again.

A well timed double rotation deflected the clone's attack, but they were both running out of chakra.

"Should we try the Air Palms attack again brother?" Hizashi asked.

Hiashi shook his head no. They had already tried that multiple times, but they have yet to do more damage than a cracked rib on the Susanno's body. It was clearly ineffective.

"I think that that sounds like a great idea father. Lets try it out" Neji said as he and Sakura arrived on the battlefield next to his father.

"Neji? Sakura? How did you manage to defeat the clone that you were up against?" Hizashi asked surprised to see them.

"It wasn't easy, we are both Taijutsu specialists and his Susanno was hard to break; we managed to weaken it a little bit but he was underestimating us. While he was mocking our weakness, Sakura suddenly unlocked her Strength of Hundred seal and became insanely strong. Once she destroyed the Susanno's rib cage, it was a little easier to defeat the clone" Neji explained as he pointed to the seal on Sakura's forehead.

' _ **Strong girl'**_ Hiashi and Hizashi thought at the same time.

"Well even with three of us here, I don't know if the air palm will be strong enough to break through the Susanno armor" Hiashi said.

"We don't have to break through the armor, we just have to weaken it enough for Sakura to shatter it" Neji said.

"And there are four of us" Hinata added as she joined the others.

"Hinata what are you doing here?" Hiashi asked.

"Sasuke said that he could handle the Madara clone alone, so when he noticed that you and uncle were struggling, he sent me here to help" Hinata said.

The Madara clone heard this and looked at Hinata in contemplation. He had been ignoring all of the previous conversation that they were having as he waited for them to attack because it was of no threat to him, but when she said Sasuke's name it sparked his interest and made him begin to listen.

"Well now that you're here, we might as well try our air palm attack again" Hiashi said as he and the other Hyuugas gathered their chakra.

"Try whatever attack you like, the end result will be the same because you're weak" the Madara clone said as he crossed his arms inside of the Susanno.

" **8 TRIGRAMS AIR PALM"** all of the Hyuuga's screamed as they fired their technique at the Madara clone with Hinata adding Electricity to her air palm.

When it collided with the Susanno's body, the clone was surprised to see how much damage it was doing to it. It actually cracked the Susanno's armor a little but that wasn't the only surprise, as Sakura sent a chakra filled punch that shattered the remainder of the Susanno and knocked the clone back a few feet.

"Impressive, but this battle is still far from over" the clone said as he got into his stance prepared to face them, but before he could attack a large foot crushed him.

"For us maybe, but for you it just ended" Sasuke replied from inside his Susanno as he crushed the Madara clone until he was sure it was destroyed.

Sasuke then deactivated his Susanno as he approached the others.

"I take it that you disposed of your Madara clone?" Hiashi said as he deactivated his Byakugan. Sasuke simply nodded his head.

"The clone was incredibly weak compared to the real thing. I didn't even have to waste too much chakra on it" Sasuke said while unknowingly making Hiashi and Hizashi feel inferior.

Hinata and Neji noticed the indignant faces that their fathers made and decided that it would be best to change the subject.

"I can see that all of the Madara clones have been dealt with. It seems like all of our allies are converging on the area where the First Hokage and the real Madara are battling" Neji said looking at the area with his Byakugan.

"Yeah I felt that the loser and Itachi both took out two clones each. Itachi probably helped Taka and I'm sure the Dobe helped Haku and Zabuza. The others were probably able to handle the clones on their own" Sasuke said as he thought about the information Neji gave him.

"It doesn't matter how. Now that all of the clones were dealt with, we can go deal with the real Madara and end this war" Hiashi said after he recovered from the unintentional blow to his ego.

"Alright Neji lets head over to the Real Madara. Hinata, Sakura, heal Hiashi and Hizashi and then follow us there" Sasuke said before sprinting away with Neji in hot pursuit.

When they were gone, Hiashi frowned.

"Your betrothed sure is cocky isn't he?" he grumbled to Hinata who was healing him. Hinata let out a nervous laugh and Sakura chuckled while she was healing Hizashi.

"It's fine, based off of the fight with the wood clone; its clear to me that we'll need his confidence and then some if we want to live past this battle" Hizashi said as Sakura finished healing him.

Hiashi thought about his brother's words and nodded in agreement. After Hinata finished his healing, he stood up and flared his chakra.

"Lets go" Hiashi said and after that the four shinobi left the area to rejoin everyone else for the final confrontation with Madara.

XxXxXx

Madara was thoroughly enjoying his fight with Hashirama. They've exchanged multiple attacks, but neither of them had a scratch on them because of their amazing healing abilities.

Well Madara because of his healing abilities. Hashirama looked like he didn't take any damage because he was an reanimated shinobi.

Madara had already called upon his Perfect Susanno, but Hashirama countered it with his Wood Dragon and Wood Golem. The two broke apart from their most recent clash with heavy breaths coming from both of them, as they powered down. Hashirama smiled when he noticed something.

"It seems like all of your wood clones have been disposed of Madara. You shouldn't have underestimated the others" Hashirama said.

"I wasn't underestimating anyone you idiot" Madara started as a smirk formed on his face.

"Then why did you send clones to attack them?" Hashirama asked.

"Well the first reason why I did that was so I could fight you one on one for a little without having to worry about anyone intervening, but the second reason was so that I would have the knowledge of the others techniques" Madara said with a smirk.

Hashirama's eyes widened in realization, but before he could say anything, Madara got in a relaxed position as he spoke again.

"This was a fun dance Hashirama, but it seems that our alone time has come to an end"

As soon as the words left his mouth, shinobi began to appear and surround Madara. Kakashi, Obito and Gai were the first ones to arrive followed closely by Minato, Kisame, Itachi and Team Taka. Soon after that the rest of First Company appeared with Hiashi and Hizashi being the last ones to arrive.

When everyone appeared, Gaara spoke up.

"Give up Madara. You're clones weren't enough to defeat us and now we have you surrounded. There is no situation where this ends in your favor" he said as he readied his sand to attack.

Madara laughed quietly at his words before he erupted into full blown laughter, making everyone get on the defensive.

"You have me surrounded? That may be true, but you've all fallen right into my trap" Madara said as his Rinnegan glowed.

Before anyone could react to what Madara had said, Madara raised his arm and had his palm aimed towards Hashirama.

" **UNIVERSAL PULL"** Madara said.

Hashirama was shocked as he was pulled towards Madara against his will. Hashirama kept flying towards Madara until his hand grabbed Hashirama's throat. Madara then began to absorb Hashirama's chakra.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt a strange sense of Déjà vu overcome him. He quickly unsheathed Kusanagi before charging at Madara.

"Don't let him absorb all of the First Hokage's chakra" Sasuke yelled as he charged Madara.

The rest of First Company snapped into action and charged towards Madara as well. When Madara noticed this, he squeezed harder on Hashirama's neck and raised his other hand towards them as he gathered a little chakra.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH"** Madara said as he sent everyone else flying back.

Madara then continued to absorb Hashirama's chakra until the man's Edo Tensei began to crack. When Madara felt that he took all of the chakra that he could from Hashirama, he let go of Hashirama's throat and pinned him to the ground with a chakra receiver. With the chakra receiver stabbed through his back, Hashirama was rendered useless.

With the biggest threat out of the way, Madara was now focused on obtaining the Tailed Beasts. He bit his thumb and performed the hand signs necessary for his summoning jutsu, but he was interrupted by Naruto and Minato before he could place his hand on the ground.

The father and son were both in their Bijuu mode as they tried to hit Madara with a double Rasengan, but simply raised both of his hands and absorbed the Ninjutsu.

"I'll be with you in a moment Nine Tails Jinchuurikis. We can continue this dance after I summon the Gedo Statue" Madara said as he smashed the two together and threw them away.

Madara then smashed his hand on the ground to complete the summoning Jutsu. Everyone was surprised to see the giant statue arise from the smoke, and Sasuke was starting to feel genuine fear for the first time since he's been sent back.

"We cant let him get to Naruto and Gaara" Sasuke said as he once again charged Madara, with Itachi, Obito and Kakashi trailing right behind him.

Madara dodged Sasuke's sword attacks, before he hit Sasuke with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying into Itachi, knocking both of the brothers back.

Obito and Kakashi tried to double team Madara, but the man blocked and countered every single attack that the two former members of Team Minato sent towards him.

Then suddenly Minato appeared right in front of Madara with a giant Rasengan aimed towards him. Madara's eyes widened as he wasn't prepared to dodge or absorb the attack from Minato.

" **FLYING THUNDER GOD STAGE 3"** Minato said as he pushed the Rasengan towards Madara, just to be stopped by an invisible force.

"Hmm what a useful technique 'Limbo' is" Madara said smirking as he punched Minato in the gut, knocking the wind out of the shinobi before using 'Almighty Push' to send the three members of Team Minato flying back.

Madara felt more shinobi approaching and turned just in time to dodge a swipe from Kisame's sword Samehada. Madara backflipped out of the way only to duck seconds before Zabuza's Executioner's Blade would've beheaded him.

Madara moved a few feet away before the facing the two swordsman with interest.

"I thought that you were dead Kisame, but it just seems that you've betrayed me; You'll have to die for that. And it also seems that there's another member of the Seven ninja swordsman of the mist. Is attacking me, a ninja that you have no quarrel with, worth dying over?" Madara asked.

"The only one dying here will be you" Zabuza said as he gathered his chakra.

" **NINJA ART: HIDDEN MIST JUTSU"**

The last thing that Madara saw was Kisame's sharp toothed smirk, before the two shinobi disappeared from sight.

Madara looked around the mist for any signs of the shinobi, but his ears picked up a very quiet sound.

Whipping his head towards the noise, he just lifted his hand up in time to catch four senbon that had been aimed towards his neck. Then he felt the wind pressure shift beside him suddenly.

Madara then turned to block the Executioner Blade with the Senbon that he had just caught. Madara smirked at the looked of surprise that was on Zabuza's face before he sent a strong kick at the Blade, breaking it in half.

He then only had a few seconds to dodge a swipe from Kisame, then he felt Zabuza slice a little cut into his left arm. Madara jumped back as the two once again disappeared into the mist, but before they completely left his sight, Madara noticed that the Executioner's Blade had absorbed his blood and started to grow back.

' _ **This mist is troublesome. I better get rid of it before they get too excited'**_ Madara thought as he expelled some his chakra. This created a great wind that blew the mist away revealing the locations of both Kisame and Zabuza, but he was a little shocked to see that there was a woman with them.

' _ **She must've been the one who threw the senbon at me'**_ Madara rationalized internally as he noticed the expressions on Kisame and Zabuza's faces.

Madara took advantage of their surprised faces as he zoomed towards Kisame, perceiving him as the bigger threat between the two.

Kisame noticed this and quickly formed his hand signs to counter Madara's attack, but it wasn't needed as someone else beat him too it.

" **PARTICLE STYLE: ATOMIC DISMANTLING JUTSU"** Onoki said as he fired the technique at Madara.

It seemed to engulf him completely and destroy him completely as dust surrounded the area.

When the smoke cleared it showed that Madara was motionless in a crater with wounds all over his body. Kisame, Zabuza and Haku were all surprised that Onoki had managed to single handedly defeat Madara.

"Thanks for distracting him long enough for me to get a clear shot you three. He should be unconscious for at least a few minutes which gives you more than enough time to kill him" Onoki said as he floated overtop of the crater with another attack ready in case Madara made the slightest move.

All four of the shinobi's eyes widened when the Madara in the crater disappeared in a puff of smoke.

' _ **A Shadow Clone'**_ they all thought simultaneously before Onoki felt a hand pierce though his chest.

They all looked up in horror to see Madara hovering behind Onoki with his whole arm through the Old Kage's chest.

"Foolish Onoki, you should've known better than to challenge me after I spared you all those years ago. Your death could've been avoided if you just abided by my words" Madara said with a smirk on his face.

"H-How d-did you a-avoid m-my a-attack" Onoki asked as he turned his head to look towards Madara, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he threw up blood.

"Your 'Particle Style' attack expels a lot of chakra and I'm a sensory ninja. I could sense it coming the entire time" Madara said as he ripped his hand out of Onoki's chest, bringing his heart with it.

Madara then watched as the life faded from Onoki's body as he fell towards the ground and hit it with a satisfying thud.

He didn't have time to enjoy Onoki's death though because a giant Sand hand grabbed him out of no where. He looked over to see the One Tail Jinchuuriki frowning towards him.

"You shouldn't have done that" Gaara said and Madara could feel the sand tightening around his body, but that wasn't the only problem as Naruto appeared in front of him with a Rasengan.

' _ **Doesn't the brat know by now that I can absorb all Ninjutsu? He's even dumber than Hashirama'**_ Madara thought as he tried to absorb the attack, but he was surprised when he discovered that he couldn't as the Rasengan slammed into his face and sent him spiraling towards the ground.

Madara felt blood fill his mouth after the attack but that he just made him feel more alive. He got up with smirk on his face before he looked at Naruto and Gaara.

"That was a nicely choreographed attack Jinchuuriki's. One Tail that was quite the grip you had on me and Naruto I would have never guessed that you had Sage Mode, well done" Madara praised as he quickly formed some hand signs that made the Gedo Statue begin to move.

"But unfortunately the time has come for me to extract the Tailed Beasts, please try to survive this Naruto" Madara said as chains came out of the Gedo Statue and pierced through both Gaara and Naruto's stomach as they wrapped around Kurama and Shukaku's neck.

Gaara and Naruto both tried to fight the chains, but they continued to slowly extract the beasts from them.

Madara smirked as he could begin to see the heads of both of the Bijuu, both smirk left his face as he felt black flames on him. Madara quickly absorbed the flames with his Rinnegan before he looked to his left to see Sasuke charging towards him with lighting chakra coating his sword. Madara sighed at the sight.

"Are you sure you want to do this Sasuke? I'll have to kill you if you interfere" Madara said sounding more than a little disappointed.

"Shut up. I won't let you take the Tailed Beasts from them" Sasuke said as he continued to charge towards him, but Madara noticed something was off with the way that he was running towards him.

' _ **He's running really slow for someone who's trying to stop me, and I KNOW that he can go faster than that. That can only mean one thing'**_ Madara thought as he quickly tilted his head to the side, seeing Hinata's open palm exactly where his head was a moment ago.

"Distraction" Madara said, as he tripped her and punched her gut while see was on the ground making her wheeze and cough up a little blood.

He lifted his foot, about to drill it through Hinata's to finish the Hyuuga woman off, but Sasuke's yell stopped him before he could slam it into her.

"NOOOO"

Madara turned towards Sasuke just in time to be tackled full force by him. He used his Susanno armor to enhance the strength of the tackle and Madara had genuinely been out of breath for a few moments.

The two rolled around on the ground for a moment before Sasuke managed to pin Madara to the ground. He held Kusanagi over his head and tried to slam his sword into Madara's skull but something stopped him.

He remembered this feeling from his last life, right before he died. It felt like something was holding him as Madara got up from underneath him.

Sasuke was struggling with whatever hold that Madara had on him as he saw Madara pick up his sword. A huge wave of déjà vu overcame Sasuke as he thrashed around and tried to escape, but it was no use.

"I really wished that you could've seen things my way. We wouldn't have to go through this if you just stayed out of my way" Madara said with a solemn voice as he walked towards his struggling incarnate with the sword raised towards him.

"SASUKE" Hinata, Itachi, Kakashi, Sakura, Neji, Obito and Team Taka yelled as they all charged towards Madara trying to save him, but unfortunately Madara was having none of it.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH"** Madara said as he sent them all flying far away from him, Sasuke and the Jinchuuriki's.

"After this there will be no one left to stop me from achieving my goals…" Madara said as he stood right in front of Sasuke. By this time, Naruto and Gaara were rendered unconscious as Kurama and Shukaku had almost been completely extracted from them.

"Your deaths will mark the birth of the perfect world… I wish that you and Naruto could have been around to see it, but this is the way things must be. Please forgive me" Madara said as he stabbed Kusanagi threw Sasuke's chest.

Kurama and Shukaku being absorbed into the Gedo Statue was the last thing Sasuke saw before everything went black.

 **TBC**

… **My fingers are still shaking after writing this chapter… I promise I'll get on the next one as soon as I can. Now on to the reviews**

 **The Unkown Uchia- Is this fast enough for you?**

 **Sasuhina Lover (Guest)- Thank you so much. Yeah the trolls don't really bother me anymore at this point. I don't get how they complain about the number of reviews my story has, but they're constantly adding to the review count with their nonsense lmao.**

 **That one Kitsune- Thank you, I'm glad to be back! And that's an interesting battle to think about. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Splaaash-attack- I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you. I hope that you enjoyed this one as well. And yeah this chapter showed that Hizashi and Hiashi are kind of out of their league, but we'll see how they can help.**

 **Thank you for everyone who continues to stick with me through this long story. Please continue to read and review and please don't hesitate to give me any suggestions that you have. – Dishon 3.**


	39. Buying Time

**Chapter 39**

As soon as the One and Nine Tailed Beasts were absorbed into the Gedo Statue, it began its transformation until the massive body of the Ten Tailed Beast appeared on the battlefield. Madara wiped the solemn look off of his face and replaced it with a smirk as the Ten Tails roared.

Hinata watched the scene with tears in her eyes. Madara had single handedly critically wounded three of the most important people of her life and he had the nerve to smirk.

Naruto and Gaara were both unconscious and fading fast according to their chakra signatures and Sasuke was unconscious as well as his blood continued to stain the ground around him.

Hinata was furious and was half a second away from charging Madara head on, but she was stopped the voice of Itachi.

"Hinata calm down, we don't need you doing anything reckless right now. I need you to go heal Sasuke. Obito and Kakashi are going to take you to their Kamui Dimension along with Sakura, Karin, Naruto, Gaara and Minato so that you wont be distracted by Madara or the battle going on" Itachi said as he walked towards Hinata with no emotion in his voice.

Hinata looked at Itachi, wondering how he could remain so emotionless when his little brother was essentially killed right in front of him, but she was shocked to see that there was a deep frown on his face, and his Sharingan was more intense then she's ever seen it before. Itachi was visibly upset by what happened but he clearly still held hope that they could be saved, and that hope spread to Hinata.

Her face got serious as she nodded her head in understanding.

"Kisame, Darui, Zabuza, Haku, Gai, Hiashi, Hizashi, Neji, Suigetsu, Juugo and I are going to charge Madara to give you the opening to grab Sasuke. Sakura is going to get Naruto and Karin is going to get Gaara. Minato is going to import his half of the Nine Tails into Naruto while Sakura keeps him alive, and Karin claims that she has enough chakra to keep Gaara alive and stable. I'm entrusting Sasuke's life to you Hinata. I have faith that you can save my little brother" Itachi said flashing Hinata a smile that was gone not even a second later.

"You can count on me. Please just stay alive" Hinata said and Itachi nodded as he took out a Kunai and pointed it towards Madara who still had Sasuke's sword in his hand.

"Madara Uchiha, you will pay for what you just did to my little brother and his friends" Itachi said as the others gathered around him.

"Will I really? Hmm I wonder about that" Madara said as he sheathed Sasuke's sword. Then he quickly formed some hand signs and flared his chakra.

Everyone then watched in shock as Madara began to absorb the entire Ten Tails into his body. No one could do anything but watch as Madara's chakra began to grow exponentially.

When the process was over, Madara's hair was white and he now had power that made even Hashirama look like a Genin in comparison.

"So just to inform you of what you're up against, I have now obtained power similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths so I hope you know that your resistance is ultimately useless. Out of respect for Sasuke and Naruto, I'm giving you all the chance to give up this battle so that you may live to see your Perfect World. However, if you choose to still defy me then you will die" Madara said as he smirked at the group as if daring them to make a move.

" **WOOD STYLE: DEEP FOREST EMERGENCE"**

The smile left Madara's face as he was hit full force by an attack that sent him flying away a few meters, but he quickly recovered as he did a backflip in mid air and landed on his feet. His eyes widened as he looked at Hashirama.

"Hashirama? How did you remove the Chakra receivers?" Madara asked as he dusted himself off. He seemed to have taken no damage from the attack.

"The Hyuuga Heads had no problem destroying them for me. Now let's continue where we left off" Hashirama said as he created a Wood Golem. Madara looked at the Golem for a moment before he laughed to himself.

' _ **I've already become the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki. I can play with Hashirama a little more before I activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi'**_ Madara thought to himself as he jumped towards Hashirama and the Wood Golem.

"Obito, Kakashi, this is the perfect time to go. Hurry before Madara defeats the First Hokage" Itachi said as he watched Madara destroy the Wood Golem before Hashirama's Wood Dragon wrapped around him.

Obito and Kakashi nodded as they used Kamui to put Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Minato, Sakura, Gaara and Karin into their dimension.

XxXxXx

Once inside the Kamui dimension, Hinata, Sakura and Karin got straight to work on healing Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara.

Hinata had removed Sasuke's shirt as she worked on the wound. She had managed to stop the bleeding and close the wound, but Sasuke's chakra was still dangerously low, and his heart was barely moving. Hinata had resorted to using her lightning palms as a defibrillator to try to get Sasuke's heart to beat normally again.

Kakashi held Gaara's head up and forced him to bite on Karin as she carefully flowed her healing chakra into him. Karin knew that it wouldn't heal him completely because of the fact that the One Tail had been pulled out of him, but she knew that she could keep him alive and stable until his body recovered on its own.

Sakura had been giving Naruto CPR to make sure that he continued breathing as Minato transferred his half of the Nine Tails into his son. When Minato was done doing that, he walked over to his former student.

"Take me back to the battlefield. I may not be the best at Senjutsu but I can sustain Sage Mode for a few minutes. I'm one of the only ones who can really help the First Hokage in his fight against Madara" Minato said.

Kakashi nodded and transported Minato back the battlefield before he asked the medic nin how the three teenagers were doing.

"Gaara is in bad shape, but he'll live. I don't think he'll wake up for a very long time. He's in a comatose state" Karin said as she laid Gaara's head back down on the ground. She was completely exhausted of chakra and barely able to stay conscious herself but she was proud of the fact that she stabilized Gaara.

Kakashi nodded at Karin's words before looking towards Sakura and Hinata who had placed the two best friends next to each other.

"After the Fourth Hokage placed his half of the Nine Tails in him he's been stable, but his heartbeat is dangerously slow and it's scaring me" Sakura said as her hands continued to glow green with her medical chakra.

"Sasuke is in a similar state. I've stopped the bleeding, and I'm using my lightning palms as a defibrillator but his heartbeat isn't getting any faster. It's almost as if he's in a comatose state. He and Naruto's chakra flow is exactly the same" Hinata said as she assessed the two with her Byakugan.

Kakashi looked at both of the woman with a solemn face. They both had tears in their eyes but they refused to give up hope. Kakashi looked at his two unconscious students with a worried look, but he knew that they were alive and that they would find a way back because they wouldn't allow themselves to die like this. He was sure of this because Naruto and Sasuke were two of the most stubborn people he'd ever met.

' _ **They'll make it through this'**_ Kakashi thought resolutely as he continued to watch Hinata and Sakura try their best to heal them.

XxXxXx

While Hinata, Karin and Sakura were healing Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto; Hashirama and Minato were getting decimated by Madara who was clearly just toying with them.

Madara's ego was now completely regained as he paid back all the times that Hashirama had bested him in full. He had now destroyed Hashirama at least three times, but he purposely wasn't using his truth seeker orbs or chakra receivers because he wanted him to be able to recover. Minato was just a minor annoyance that Madara would swat away when necessary. The man's Sage Jutsu didn't last long so he constantly had to leave the fight to gather more nature energy before he could continue fighting.

Madara was had a satisfied smirk on his face the entire time as he taunted his two opponents.

"Come on Hashirama, surely you could do better with that reanimated body, and what happened to your half of the Nine Tails blonde Hokage? Are you scared that I'm going to absorb it?" Madara said as he knocked them back once again.

He quickly threw Chakra Receivers at Hashirama and Minato to disable them as he felt a figure approach him from behind. He smirked at the foolish action.

Madara's smirked stayed on his face as he dodged a swipe of a sword from behind him. Zabuza had a shocked look on his face after Madara dodged his attack, but he didn't have much time to think about it as Madara's foot slammed into his ribs.

A sickening crack was heard as Zabuza let out a scream of pain. Madara laughed at the familiarity of the sound.

He raised his foot to end Zabuza's life, but before he could, a barrage of senbon were sent at him courtesy of Haku. This unexpectedness of the attack forced him to dodge in order to avoid getting hit by the sharp objects.

His dodging put him right in the path of Gai, who was in his 7th gate. He sent a few jabs at Madara but he was stopped by Madara's limbo clone. Madara smirked at Gai's shocked face before he kicked the man away knocking him unconscious.

Then he was bombarded by Kisame and Suigetsu as the two fired their strongest water jutsu's at him. Madara stood in the water completely unaffected.

"Is this little puddle supposed to afflict damage on me?" Madara asked as he stared at the two swordsman.

They both had the same fanged smirk on their faces which irritated Madara to no end, but he soon discovered the reason for their smirks when he heard a voice behind him.

" **BLACK LIGHTNING"**

Madara smirked as the Lightning and Water chakras mixed creating a powerful attack. It might've been enough to subdue any normal shinobi, but unluckily for them, Madara wasn't a normal shinobi. He flashed his Rinnegan as he began to absorb the jutsu's that had been fired at him, but just as he began to absorb the combined attacks, he saw a giant shadow looming over him.

He looked up to see Itachi had activated his Perfect Susanno and his sword was heading towards him fast, but it wasn't a normal sword. Madara could feel the sealing properties radiating from the blade and he quickly decided that he couldn't allow it to touch him.

He stopped absorbing the Jutsu and felt a sting of pain from the combined attacks before he moved out of the way milliseconds before the sword could touch him.

Madara then summoned his chakra and sent his strongest fire jutsu at Kisame, Suigetsu and Darui.

" **FIRE STYLE: MAJESTIC DESTROYER FLAME"**

An even larger mass of fire that attacked the group earlier hurled straight towards the group and Madara smirked before he saw that Itachi's Susanno had landed in front of them. Madara didn't know how, but Itachi had somehow managed to negate the attack with his shield while suffering no damage.

' _ **I may have underestimated Sasuke's brother. The sword and shield that his Susanno possesses could prove problematic for me if I'm not careful. I need to get him out of the picture'**_ Madara thought but his thoughts were interrupted by a giant fist slamming into his face courtesy of Juugo.

The impact stung but that wasn't the end of the attack as chakra started to expel from the holes of Juugo's fist, causing the punch's strength increase rapidly until Madara actually began to feel actual pain from it.

' _ **Is he using Senjutsu?'**_ Madara thought as he looked up at the Orange Haired man.

Then the fist slammed him on the ground as the pressure from the chakra continued to increase. With Madara seemingly pinned down by Juugo, Neji, Hizashi and Hiashi quickly began to strike at his chakra points.

Madara was quickly starting to get annoyed with all the insects that continued to attack him. He was only toying with them for his own amusement, but now playtime was over.

" **ALMIGHTY PUSH"** Madara yelled as he pushed everyone away from him so that he had space. The first order of business was to get Itachi's attention on something else.

He quickly summoned a dozen meteors from space to head towards the battlefield. He smirked at the looks of shock and horror that adorned everyone's face as the meteors entered the atmosphere. Itachi flew up with his Susanno to try to destroy them before they could reach the ground.

With Itachi out of the battle for a while, Madara could focus on squashing the other insects. Madara jumped towards Juugo first, punching the orange haired giant so hard that he instantly lost consciousness. He then slammed a chakra receiver into his shoulder to immobilize him before moving on to the group that tried to shock him with that combined Lightning and Water attack.

Darui tried to meet him with a swipe of his sword, but he was stopped by an invisible force. Madara smirked as he took the sword from the immobile Darui and used it to duel with Kisame.

Madara was pleasantly surprised to see that Kisame wasn't weak, and he knew that if he was in a better mood then he probably would've toyed with him a little, but unfortunately for Kisame, Madara was beyond the mood for games.

After Kisame knocked Darui's blade out of Madara's hand, he swung Samehada down with the intention of cleaving Madara in half. Madara reached up with his bare hand and caught the blade. He ignored the pain of Samehada absorbing some of his chakra as he smirked at Kisame's surprised face.

"Here's your punishment for betraying me" Madara said as he used his raw strength to over power Kisame and shoved Samehada all the way through Kisame's torso. Kisame's eyes widened as he spit up blood, but then he smirked and grabbed Madara's shoulders.

"That's fine, but you're coming to hell with me" Kisame said.

Madara simply shook his head in disgust as he felt a presence quickly approaching him. Madara jumped up and balanced himself on Kisame's shoulders as Suigetsu swung Zabuza's Executioners Blade at them. The blade cut Kisame clean in half.

Suigetsu's look of shock made Madara smirk as he took the upper half of Kisame's severed body that he was hanging on too and slammed it into Suigetsu with enough strength to knock the teen unconscious before he threw the upper half of Kisame's body at the prone form of Darui, knocking him unconscious as well.

After dealing with them he turned his attention towards Zabuza. He picked up the sword that Kisame knocked out of his hand before advancing towards the man who had just managed to get back on his feet.

He jumped at him, but he was once again interrupted by a barrage of senbon being fired at him. Madara repelled them with his Rinnegan before he tossed the sword in the direction of the woman that was throwing Senbon at him.

The sword found its mark as it stuck out of her shoulder. Haku winced in pain, but she couldn't focus much on it because of the fact that Madara was now charging towards her.

She quickly pulled the sword out of her shoulder and tried to use it to defend herself, but Madara was much to quick as he kneed her hand, forcing her to release her grip on the sword before kicking her in the gut, forcing her to double over in pain. Madara picked up the sword that she dropped and raised it over his head.

"It's been fun but I've grown tired of you throwing senbon at me. Goodbye" Madara said as he brought the sword down with as much force as he could muster, but he was shocked that it didn't stab through his intended target.

Zabuza had somehow managed to pushed Haku out of the way just in time, but he wasn't fast enough to move out of the way completely as the sword was slammed into his spine all the way to the hilt.

Tears flowed down Haku's cheek when she saw what had happened. She crawled over to Zabuza's pinned body to make sure he was still alive, but he was motionless. Haku hesitantly put her fingers to his neck to check his pulse and was relieved to feel that he was still alive, just in terrible shape.

She moved to pull the sword out but the voice of Madara stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he said as he looked at Zabuza with a contemplative look on his face. Haku frowned as she shakily got to her feet and stood in between herself and Zabuza and pointed her kunai at Madara.

"If you pull the sword out then he'll surely die before he can get any medical attention. Then again he's likely to die anyway, because even if he survives it's likely that he'll never be able to use his legs again. That's hazardous for shinobi" Madara said as he advanced forward not caring about Haku standing there.

"B-Back U-Up" Haku stuttered as tears continued to streak down her face, but Madara didn't listen.

When he got in arms distance, Haku tried to attack but both her wrists were grabbed by Madara, forcing her to drop the kunai and rendering her unable to move.

Madara observed Haku for a moment before he looked back at Zabuza's prone form. Haku had no choice but to watch as Madara looked back and forth a few more times before he looked her in her eyes, seeming to have to come to a decision.

"This man sacrificed himself to save you. That's an admirable trait for a shinobi to possess, especially one coming from the Bloody Mist Village. I will allow you to live to see your Perfect World out of respect to this shinobi who transcended his Village teachings to save you" Madara said as he grabbed her throat.

Haku's eyes widened as he tightened his grip on her throat.

"Even though I've decided that you will live, I still can't allow you to continue to interfere with my plans. It's time for you to take a little nap" Madara said as he continued to squeeze on Haku's throat until the woman lost consciousness.

He then dropped Haku's limp body just in time to dodge the attacks from the three Hyuuga.

' _ **This assault team is starting to really get annoying. They're like roaches. Every time I crush one, another crawls out of a random hole in the ground'**_ Madara thought has he dodged the dangerous hands of the Hyuuga.

When he was tired of humoring their efforts he had three of his limbo clones grab on to the three Hyuuga. With his opponents finally immobilized, Madara walked towards them.

"What possessed you to come here to attack me? The Hyuuga Clan was rumored to be introverted and smart just like the Uchiha albeit much more rooted in tradition. I would think that you would've kept to yourselves instead of agreeing to participate in this battle that you knew that you had no chance of winning" Madara said while he unsheathed Sasuke's sword.

"As the Hyuuga Heads and the strongest in the clan, we couldn't sit idly by and allow our children to participate in battle with a monster like you without being able to protect them" Hiashi said.

"So even if we knew that there was a good chance that we could die, we would still go. We would gladly give our lives for the life of our children" Hizashi said picking up where his brother left off.

Madara thought about what the two twins were saying. He didn't have any kids of his own, but he could empathize with what they were saying. However, that didn't mean that he would spare them.

"So let me get this straight. If I agree to spare your children, then you won't mind dying?" Madara asked as he raised the sword.

At Madara's question, Neji began to violently thrash around and try to escape but to no avail. Madara's limbo clone had a tight grip on him.

"Of course" The two Hyuuga heads said simultaneously.

"Father. Uncle Hiashi. Don't do this, you're the heads of the clan. You can't just die here to protect me and Hinata" Neji argued as angry tears started to form in the corner of his eyes.

"The old must step aside so that the young can thrive. I have no doubt that you and Hinata will lead the Hyuuga to greatness in our absence" Hizashi said as he smiled at his son.

"Just promise me that you'll uphold the honor and integrity of the Hyuuga. Also you are to be the main head, do not allow Sasuke to think that he has any say in Hyuuga matters even after he marries Hinata" Hiashi said with a smile as well.

Madara paused for a second when he heard the Hyuuga's words. Sasuke? The Hyuuga girl was betrothed to Sasuke? That brought up interesting possibilities for what the child on the union would be like, and it made a lot of sense as to why Sasuke wouldn't join him when he asked but that was impossible now because he killed Sasuke right?

He quickly looked around and noticed that Sasuke's body was nowhere to be found. Neither was Naruto or the One Tail Jinchuuriki, and then he noticed that Obito and Kakashi were also gone along with the medic nin.

' _ **Dammit I've been tricked. Obito and his friend must have used Kamui to go to another Dimension to heal Sasuke, Naruto and their friend. That was actually a genius idea and I hope that they were successful in healing them, but I know that they'd be problematic if they didn't die'**_ Madara thought to himself as he pondered over the probability of Naruto and Sasuke being alive before he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He had Hyuuga to kill.

"Are you done with your final words to the boy? I'd like to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi as soon as possible" Madara said.

Both Hizashi and Hiashi nodded in their acceptance as Neji continued to thrash violently to no avail.

"You won't win. The will of fire burns brightly in these young men that have come to defeat you" Hizashi said.

"You will be defeated that much certain, even if we wont be around to see it" Hiashi said.

Madara ignored them as he created a shadow clone that had a sword of it's own. He found it fitting that he'd kill the twins the same way they came into the world; together.

Simultaneously the two Madara's stuck their swords through Hiashi and Hizashi's hearts, killing them instantly. Neji watched in shock with tears flowing down his face as the lifeless bodies of his father and uncle dropped to the ground in front of him.

The Madara shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as the real Madara walked towards him. When he got in front of Neji, he spoke.

"Be grateful that you had such caring parents. If they hadn't appealed to my empathy then its very likely that you would have died the same death that they just did. Instead, you have been permitted to live on, and I have no doubt that you will see them again inside of the Infinite Tsukuyomi so the pain that you're feeling now is merely temporary" Madara said as he cleaned the blood off of the sword.

Neji was livid, but he was still being restricted by the limbo clone, so he did the only thing that he could've done in his current situation. He spit in Madara's face.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that wasn't very Hyuuga-like young man. Normally I'd kill someone who dared to do that to me, but given the current circumstances I'll let it slide. However, your actions has earned you a nap" Madara said as he swung the hilt of the sword towards Neji, but it never connected as a blue blur slammed into him and knocked him back a few feet.

Neji felt himself being freed as his sensei ripped him out of the grasp of the limbo clone before setting himself down on his feet.

"Neji I'm sorry that I couldn't get here fast enough to protect the Hyuuga Heads, but even though they're gone; their youth still burns brightly within you and Hinata. Do not let their sacrifice be in vein" Gai said.

Neji looked at Gai in surprise for a moment before he nodded and stood next to him. The time for grieving will be later, for now they still had a fight to finish.

Neji was about to charge Madara, but he was stopped by Gai. When Neji looked at Gai for some sort of explanation, he received a thumbs up and a wide grin.

"Don't worry Neji, I'll take care of things from now on. I've finally realized what I have to do to defeat him" Gai said.

Neji was confused for a moment but his eyes widened when he scanned Gai's chakra with his Byakugan. He noticed that his chakra was flowing towards the 8th and final gate. The Gate of Death.

As soon as he realized what Gai was doing, the blood red aura erupted around him. The wind was so intense that Neji had to shield himself from it. Madara looked at Gai with his eyebrow raised in clear interest.

"I've never seen the legendary eight gates technique being used with such a level of mastery. I'm impressed by your will and resolve to sacrifice your life for the purpose of this battle against me. Now come, show me what the ultimate Taijutsu technique is capable of" Madara said with a smirk on his face.

Gai didn't waste any time charging towards Madara and attacking him. Gai sent a punch that sent Madara flying into a bunch of rubble.

' _ **That hurt. Quite a bit actually. Looks like I actually have a little bit of entertainment now'**_ Madara thought as he saw Gai hovering above him with another attack ready to be launched.

' _ **He's tremendously fast. This may not be as easy as I originally thought'**_ Madara thought as the wind pressure from Gai's jab slammed him further into the ground.

Gai took a second to breathe after his last attack. He had a fractured leg already, so he needed to end this as quickly as possible if he was going to live through this. He wasn't surprised to see Madara floating out of the hole that he put him in.

"You're impressive. I, Madara Uchiha, declare you to be the best at Taijutsu. Now lets get serious" Madara said as his truth seeker orbs took the form of a staff.

Gai didn't say anything, instead he just charged at Madara and the battle began once again.

XxXxXx

Darkness. Familiar Darkness. Sasuke groaned as he stood up and looked around the area. He was once again in the dark place that he was in when the Sage of Six Paths had the conversation with him about his sons.

Sasuke looked around for moment before he frowned.

"God Dammit. I was so close. I was finally living a good life and now its all been thrown away because of the same fucking person. And what's worse, he killed me in the same fucking way" Sasuke cursed.

"That is true. I wasn't expecting you to be back here by the same attack" Hagoromo said as he hovered near him.

Sasuke's head snapped in his direction before he narrowed his eyes at him, but he didn't say anything. He was partially ashamed that he did his best but still couldn't make it past this point in his life.

"Why the glare? I've been watching and I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how things have progressed up to this point" Hagoromo said as he stroked his beard.

Sasuke opened his mouth to interject, but Hagoromo put his hand up, silencing him, before he continued.

"You and Naruto are incredibly close to each other. It reminds me of how Indra and Ashura were when they were kids. You managed to make close friends outside of Ashura or his reincarnate which is something that neither Indra nor Madara accomplished in their lifetimes. Speaking of Madara, I have been watching him and even though he's obtained the same power as he did last time; he doesn't seem nearly as evil as he did the first time around. It seems like the talk you, Naruto and Hashirama had with him has affected him more than you would think. You've actually accomplished far more than I originally thought you would" Hagoromo said proud of Sasuke's accomplishments.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that before he really digested what the Sage said.

"Wait what do you mean that I accomplished more than you originally thought? Did you know that I'd end up back here?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"Well either that or you'd be by Madara's side right now" Hagoromo said with a shrug but when he noticed Sasuke's glare, he spoke again.

"Don't look at me like that. Indra and his incarnates all have the habit of abandoning anyone that tries to makes meaningful bonds with them for the sake of power. You can't blame me for seeing your betrayal as a possible outcome" Hagoromo said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but found that he couldn't completely disagree with him. He had in fact been exactly like Madara once upon a time.

"So what now? You going to send me back in time again?" Sasuke asked with a frown on his face.

He didn't want to do that. He finally had a life that he didn't hate and a family that didn't try to manipulate him. He had everything he could've wanted, so he didn't want to go back again and have to repeat everything all over again. Besides he felt that he was incredibly lucky to have the life that he had, and he didn't want to risk changing anything if he was sent back. He was relieved when he saw the look of disbelief on Hagoromo's face.

"Send you back in time again? Absolutely not. That was a one time thing, so you're stuck with living the life that you have now. I'm never sending anyone back in time again" Hagoromo said.

Sasuke wanted to point out that he wasn't technically alive anymore but Hagoromo beat him to it.

"I know that you think that you're dead because you're back here again, but you're definitely still alive. Hamura's descendent is making sure of that" Hagoromo said with a small smirk on his face.

"Hamura's descendant?" Sasuke asked even though he didn't really need to. Somehow he knew that he was talking about Hinata.

"Hamura is my brother and the Hyuuga Clan are his descendants as well as the current Otsutsuki clan thats on the moon. Just like I'm the origin of the Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki clans" Hagoromo explained.

Hagoromo noticed the look on Sasuke's face when he mentioned the Otsutsuki clan on the moon and knew that the teen had more questions to ask him about it, but Hagoromo knew that it was something that he was going to have to find out himself.

"We don't really have time to talk about that, but if you can manage to defeat Madara and live long enough to have children with her; they'd be some extraordinarily powerful kids. Almost dangerously powerful" Hagoromo said as he floated towards Sasuke.

Sasuke was a little thrown off by what Hagoromo said about his and Hinata's hypothetical children but he still had an impassive look on his face as Hagoromo held his palm towards him.

"While I've been talking to you, I've also been talking to Naruto and getting him reacquainted to the Tailed Beasts that he didn't meet this time around…"

' _ **What? Naruto met all of the Tailed Beasts? That's slightly impressive'**_ Sasuke thought before he tuned back in too what Hagoromo was saying.

"…Now that I know that both of you are on the same page, I can give you both my power so that you can work together to defeat Madara and any other threats that you two may encounter throughout your lives. Raise your dominant hand" Hagoromo said.

Sasuke did as he was instructed and raised his left hand. Hagoromo placed his palm on his and Sasuke could feel power much greater than his own surge into his body until it became his own power.

Sasuke looked at Hagoromo in surprise before he looked at his hands, not believing the amount of power that flowed through him.

"This is the first time that I'm entrusting my power to an Indra incarnate. Please do not make me regret my decision. Now go and defeat Madara, this is most likely the last time that you'll ever see me" Hagoromo said with a smirk on his face.

Sasuke looked at Hagoromo with a shocked expression before he smirked and nodded at the Sage. He felt his consciousness being returned to him slowly, and he knew that he was going to wake up soon.

As the pull became stronger, Sasuke looked at Hagoromo for the last time with a grateful expression on his face. He wanted to thank him for everything but couldn't really find the words to express himself.

It seemed that Hagoromo could tell what was on his mind though because just before Sasuke felt himself returning to the land of the living he heard Hagoromo's voice.

"You're welcome son"

XxXxXx

Sasuke and Naruto opened their eyes at the same time to see Hinata, Sakura, Kakashi and Obito hovering over them. When they realized that Sasuke and Naruto were awake, Hinata and Sakura quickly hugged the two teens.

"You idiots. Don't you ever scare me like that again" Sakura said with tears in her eyes as he wrapped her arms around her teammates. Hinata wasn't as loud, but she also had her arms around both Sasuke and Naruto.

Kakashi was relieved that they were okay, but he instantly noticed the difference in his two students. Their chakra was staggering. He looked at Obito to see if felt what he did, and Obito nodded. Their presence was overwhelming, it reminded him of Madara's after he absorbed the Ten Tails. They also couldn't help but notice that Sasuke now had a Rinnegan.

Sakura and Hinata released Sasuke and Naruto, but Sasuke's hands lingered on Hinata for a moment remembering what Hagoromo said about her, before he let her go.

Naruto noticed that Gaara was still unconscious a few feet away. He walked over to him and placed some sort of glowing orb into his stomach. Gaara's eyes snapped opened almost instantly after and he sat up.

"What did you do?" Karin asked surprised that Gaara had recovered so fast after what Naruto did.

"I gave him a little bit of Shukaku. I wont allow my friend to die if I can help it" Naruto said as he looked towards the rest of the group.

"Thanks for healing us guys. We'll take care of everything from now on. You ready Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he cracked his knuckles. Sasuke nodded and looked at Obito.

"Lets return to the battlefield. We'll finish this" Sasuke said.

Obito nodded and gathered everyone around before he and Kakashi activated Kamui to get everyone back to the battlefield.

' _ **It's time to end this cycle once and for all'**_ Sasuke and Naruto thought simultaneously as they braced themselves for the final battle against Madara.

 **TBC**

 **Sorry for the wait. I don't really think that I could do the Madara vs. Gai fight justice if I wrote it, so just imagine that it went the same way that it did in canon. Now on to reviews.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Sorry for the wait. I hope that you like this chapter as well.**

 **That one Kitsune- I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I don't really know if I want to include Kaguya. I didn't really like that ending to the series, but if enough people ask then I'll include her.**

 **Splaaash- attack- thank you. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.**

 **Dominiknoxi- Sasuke with a Rinnegan and Tenseigan? Not even I want Sasuke to be that OP. Lol**

 **The Unkown Uchia- Sorry. It was necessary and thanks.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Its good to be back and I hope that you enjoy this one as well.**

 **Serenity-Moonstone- Wow welcome back, and thank you for supporting the story. I'm glad that you liked that scene. It was just something that I thought would've been cool and it serves as a catalyst for future events…**

 **Muzicaldove- I'm sorry I left you on a cliffhanger for a week or so. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Thank you for everyone who continue to follow and enjoy this story. I'm very appreciative of all of you and you give me inspiration to continue. Please tell me your opinions on whether or not Kaguya should be in the story. Review or PM me your vote. Majority rules. Please continue to read and Review – Dishon 3**


	40. Reanimation Release

**Chapter 40**

Orochimaru and Jiraiya had led their squadron to a victory over the White Zetsu and the Reincarnated Shinobi that were fighting against them, but they still had to release the Jutsu to release the souls of the shinobi that had been revived.

"Can't you release the Jutsu since it's technically your chakra that gave Kabuto the power to cast it?" Jiraiya asked Orochimaru who was collecting more DNA from the defeated White Zetsu bodies.

"No that wouldn't work. The caster of the Jutsu has to release it himself, and even if it was as simple as me undoing it; The Hokage's would also be released and I'm sure that Lord First and Minato are needed in the battle against Madara, not to mention the fact that Sensei and Lord Second are both leaders of their own battle platoons. It just wouldn't work" Orochimaru said as if he was talking to a child.

Jiraiya noticed his tone of voice and scowled, but didn't start a fight. There would be plenty of time for that after the war, assuming that they live of course.

"Well then what are we going to do about the Revived shinobi that aren't dying? We can't just leave them there, and looking at Dan's body makes me uneasy" Jiraiya said.

"I don't think uneasy is the word I'd use to describe how he makes you feel. Isn't the real word Jealous?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk.

"Jealous!? Me? Of course not. I have no reason to be jealous of him. He was a good friend to Tsunade while he was alive and he wasn't a completely bad guy" Jiraiya said frantically waving his hands in front of him.

"Uh huh sure. That's why you insisted to fight him all alone when we both know that it would have been quicker and more effective if we attacked him together" Orochimaru replied.

"We never got the chance to really fight while he was alive. I just wanted to prove to Tsunade that I was stronger. That's all" Jiraiya said before he started to ramble on about how much better he was than Dan.

Orochimaru ignored the fact that Jiraiya just told on himself and focused on sensing out his chakra. He could feel a large amount of it in a cave not to far from their current location. It felt focused and it was an equal distance away from all of the battlefields which made it the ideal place to control all the Edo Tensei at once.

It was such an obvious placement that it almost felt like Kabuto was begging them to find him, and just when Orochimaru thought that, a small garden snake appeared in front of him.

He picked it up and heard it give him coordinates that matched up with the Cave he had assumed that Kabuto was in.

Now that he has his arms back and a nearly immortal body, acquiring his chakra back from Kabuto is one of his few goals at the moment, and Kabuto had just invited him.

"Come on Jiraiya. I have a feeling that I know where Kabuto is. We'll get him to release his Edo Tensei and then we'll all converge on Madara. I don't care how strong he is; there's no way that he can take on the combined power of every shinobi on the planet" Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya snapped out of his ramblings and nodded at Orochimaru, eager to dispel the Jutsu. They two Sannin left the battlefield and went towards where Orochimaru could sense his chakra.

XxXxXx

When the two shinobi arrived they were instantly greeted by Kabuto who now looked grossly serpentine.

"I knew that you were still alive Lord Orochimaru! I'm glad you got my message" Kabuto said.

"Kinda hard not to when you were showing off my chakra so proudly from this cave. Its like you were begging me to come" Orochimaru said.

"Well you're the only person who was smart enough to figure that out. Anyway I wanted to tell you that I had no intention of going against you during this war. When I woke up alone after our battle against Pein; I assumed that you had perished. I only wanted to follow your wishes, but Madara Uchiha was an unforeseen obstacle. I didn't expect him to be as strong as he is. I couldn't hope to control him, even with your energy" Kabuto said.

"Well yes that was very foolish, but for what its worth you are quite impressive to be able to control all of the Reanimated Shinobi at once. Also It seems that you've mastered Sage Mode in a way that I was never able too" Orochimaru said.

"Well yeah but look at him. He looks so weird!" Jiraiya interjected.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at his friend in slight annoyance. Kabuto noticed this but he also noticed that there was no malice in his expression, and that confused him.

"Lord Orochimaru, where do your allegiances lay now? Are you a Konoha shinobi again? Are we loyal to the leaf?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru smirked at the question.

"I am in no shape or form loyal to Konoha. I'm simply following Sasuke's wind and it just so happens that he wants to protect the Village for the time being. I've decided to help him out with that" Orochimaru said.

' _ **He's so full of shit. He knows that he's loyal to Konoha, I don't know why he uses Sasuke as a way to justify that'**_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Oh I see. I know that he's with the group that's confronting Madara at the moment. I'm glad that you weren't part of the group because I've felt the true power of Madara. Sasuke and Hinata are in for the fight of their lives, and I'm not sure that they'll even survive. Why didn't you follow Sasuke to help them?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru was unwilling to tell the truth of him being nervous to approach Madara. Instead he said "I was needed to get you to release the Reanimation Jutsu"

Kabuto nodded his head in understanding. He would never question Orochimaru's word.

"Of course Lord Orochimaru, I'll release it immediately. Oh, and since we're on the side of Konoha now; I guess I should return this" Kabuto said as a clone came out with an unconscious Anko.

Jiraiya was outraged and Orochimaru raised his eyebrow as to ask 'why'.

"I needed more of your chakra from her curse mark. Besides, she attacked me first" Kabuto said defensively.

"Doesn't matter, undo the Jutsu and also return my chakra to me. I plan to converge on Madara after this is done" Orochimaru said.

"Yes Lord Orochimaru" Kabuto said as he did as he was told with no hesitation.

Jiraiya looked at Kabuto in surprise before he inched his way over to Orochimaru.

"That was surprisingly easy. What did you do to make this kid so loyal to you?" Jiraiya whispered so he wouldn't draw attention to their conversation. Orochimaru smirked.

"I gave him a purpose and kept him safe as a child. In return, he gives me his unwavering loyalty. Not a bad trade off right?" The snake Sannin replied.

"So you're like a foster father that experiments all of his foster kids?" Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru decided that Jiraiya's question wasn't worth a response as he witnessed Kabuto release the Reanimation Jutsu.

' _ **Good. Now the rest is up to you and your team… Sasuke'**_

XxXxXx

Itachi let out a sigh of exhaustion after he destroyed the last of the meteorites that Madara had summoned to the battlefield.

He was running dangerously low on chakra and was barely able to sustain his Mangekyou. He managed to keep his Susanno active until he landed on the ground a few feet away from Neji. As soon as his feet touched the ground he fell to his knees completely drained of his remaining chakra. Neji noticed this and jogged over to him.

"You okay Itachi?" He asked as he helped Itachi to his feet.

"I'm fine, just low on Chakra. Where's Madara?" Itachi asked as he surveyed the battlefield.

He saw bodies littered throughout the area. He noticed that Juugo had been pinned by a chakra receiver, Zabuza was on the ground with the handle of a sword protruding from his back showing that it had him pinned; Itachi winced not knowing if the man was dead or alive, Haku was right next to him with tears in her eyes, Suigetsu was unconscious, and Darui was also unconscious and covered by the upper half of Kisame's body.

Itachi froze when he noticed that his partner had been severed in half. Then he felt a frown form on his face. Kisame may have started off as just his partner in the Akatsuki, but over the years he became the closest thing that Itachi had to a friend after the massacre, and seeing that he had been split in half was not something that Itachi could simply shrug off. Itachi was so distracted by the sight that he didn't hear that Neji had been talking to him.

"ITACHI" Neji shouted when he noticed that the man's focus was somewhere else. Itachi blinked before turning his eyes towards Neji.

"I said that Gai-sensei has entered the Eighth Gate and is now fighting Madara one on one. He seems to be keeping up now, but I don't know how long his body can last like that" Neji said as he pointed to the fight that Itachi didn't notice before.

Gai was on the offensive and Madara seemed to be struggling to counter his speed, but Itachi could also see the pure enjoyment in Madara's eyes. He was enjoying the fight and that worried Itachi. They needed to be ready for when Gai's body gave out. It was at that point that Itachi noticed that the two Hyuuga heads were missing.

"Where are Hiashi and Hizashi? Did they go to free the Hokage from the Chakra Receivers that Madara pinned them with?" Itachi asked.

At the mention of his father and uncle, Neji lowered his head and fought the tears that stung the corners of his eyes. Instead of verbally answering Itachi's question, Neji pointed to the two bodies a few meters away from Gai and Madara's fight.

Itachi's eyes followed Neji's finger over to the two bodies that he overlooked when he first assessed the battlefield. His eyes widened when he saw two identical bodies. It didn't take any time for Itachi to figure out who's bodies those were. He grimaced and placed a hand on Neji's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't know. That just gives us more reason to defeat Madara, and I think I have a way that might work, but I need to recover more of my chakra before I can attempt to do anything" Itachi said.

Neji nodded and began to ask what his plan was but before he could get the words out, a surge of chakra was felt beside them. Neji and Itachi turned to see Kakashi, Obito and the medic nin return with a fully healed Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara.

Itachi smirked when he saw them and looked right at Hinata.

"I knew that you wouldn't let my little brother die. I was right to put his life in your hands" Itachi said with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Hinata returned the smile but noticed that something was wrong with Itachi. He looked exhausted but that wasn't what Hinata was seeing; there was almost a solemn look on his usually stoic face.

She was about to ask Neji if he knew what was wrong with Itachi, but when she looked at him she was instantly aware that something terrible had happened.

Neji had tears in the corner of his eyes that refused to fall and his usually stern eyes had softened considerably. The only time that Hinata had ever seen so much emotion from Neji was when she removed the Caged Bird seal from his forehead.

So instead of asking either one what was wrong, she activated her Byakugan. She noticed the carnage just like Itachi did, but she noticed right away that her father and uncle were among the ones that fell victim to Madara's overwhelming strength.

Tears flowed unwillingly down Hinata's face as she looked at the twin holes where their hearts once were. She had a feeling that something like that would happen, but she didn't want to believe it.

Everyone noticed Hinata's face and looked in the direction that she was staring in to see the that the Hyuuga Heads had met their untimely end at the hands of Madara. Soon Hinata was enveloped in a group hug by Sasuke, Naruto and Neji.

Neither one of them spoke, including Naruto, but Hinata could feel their comforting aura. She knew that this wasn't the place for grieving but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She decided to put the attention on something else.

"Naruto you should go comfort Haku. She seems to be pretty bent out of shape about what happened to Zabuza. Sakura should go with you as well. He's still alive as far as I can tell, but he wont be for long if he doesn't get medical attention soon" Hinata said as she began to wipe her eyes.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but nodded before he let Hinata go and headed towards Zabuza and Haku. Sakura placed a soothing hand on Neji's shoulder before she followed her teammate, ready to help in anyway she could.

When they left Hinata looked at her cousin.

"Please direct Karin to Suigetsu and Darui so that she can heal them. Their unconscious so she wont be able to pick up their chakra signatures. I don't want anyone else to lose their lives in this battle" Hinata said as she escaped the group embrace from Sasuke and Neji so that she could walk over to Itachi.

Neji looked at Hinata with a pained expression before it was replaced by his usual stoic mask. He activated his Byakugan and did as Hinata asked. Hinata didn't even look at him as she continued to walk towards Itachi.

Itachi noticed this, and looked at Hinata with confusion clear on his face as she placed her hands on his back. Soon Itachi began to feel his chakra being replenished bit by bit and he had to admit that he was surprised that Hinata wasn't more visibly upset and was still contributing to the fight against Madara.

While Hinata was healing Itachi she turned to Kakashi, Gaara and Obito.

"You three should go free the Hokages and Juugo from the Chakra Receivers. They can still help us" Hinata said.

Neither Kakashi or Obito questioned the Hyuuga woman as they went to where Hashirama and Minato were pinned. Gaara hesitated for a moment.

He walked up to Hinata and placed a hand on her shoulder briefly before he headed over to where Juugo was pinned to the ground.

When everyone had left besides Itachi, who was still getting healed, Sasuke tried to gauge Hinata's mood. She had a straight face and the usual light was no longer in her eyes. Sasuke wasn't good with comforting but he would try for Hinata.

"Hinata… its okay not to be alright. Your last remaining parent just died, and your uncle as well. You don't have to be strong right now" Sasuke said.

Hinata's eyes widened a little, but she continued her work on Itachi. She looked up at Sasuke and gave him a genuine smile before speaking.

"I'm okay Sasuke. Just promise me that you'll do one thing" Hinata said as she looked into his mix matched eyes.

"Anything for you Hime" Sasuke responded. Hinata was quiet for a moment before speaking in an even tone.

"Promise me that you'll defeat Madara and end the war"

Itachi looked at his little brother and for the first time noticed the Rinnegan in his left eye. Sasuke smirked at Hinata as he responded.

"Consider it done"

XxXxXx

Haku turned to look at Naruto when she felt that he was approaching her. Naruto saw Haku's distraught expression and felt an almost overwhelming amount of malice towards Madara for making her feel that way, but he pushed it aside as he took her into his arms.

Naruto saw that Zabuza had been pinned to the ground by a sword with the hilt being the only thing visible from Zabuza's spine. Naruto winced at the shape he was in, but he had to do something to help him.

Zabuza was the closest thing that Haku had to a father and Naruto didn't want her to go through the feeling of losing that.

Sakura assessed Zabuza's condition with her medical ninjutsu. She had a solemn look before she looked back at Naruto.

"Naruto he's in terrible shape. The internal damage is irreparable without removing the sword, but the sword is the only thing that's keeping him alive. If we remove it then he'll begin to bleed out. I can seal the wound but his internal injuries are too much for me to heal. I'm sorry" Sakura said as she looked at Haku.

Haku's tears returned as she buried her head on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto held on to her with a frown on his face. He didn't want to believe that.

"I think I can save him" Naruto whispered, but Haku and Sakura both heard him.

Sakura opened her mouth to question him, but Naruto spoke first.

"Sakura, I'll need you to close the wound so that he doesn't bleed out. I'll take care of the internal damage" Naruto said as he slowly removed Haku from his arms and walked over to Zabuza's body. Sakura was about to repeat what she said but the determined look on Naruto's face kept her from repeating herself.

Naruto grabbed the the hilt of the sword and looked towards Sakura as if to ask if she was ready. Sakura's hands glowed green as she nodded at Naruto. He yanked the sword out of Zabuza.

Sakura quickly placed her hands over the wound on Zabuza's spine and healed it until the wound closed. When Sakura moved her hands away from Zabuza, Naruto placed a yellow orb into Zabuza's body.

"Check him now" Naruto said to Sakura as he backed away from the body.

Sakura nodded and did an examination of Zabuza's body. She was surprised to see that he was in stable condition. In fact he was doing much better than she could've imagined. All he needed was rest and some more low level medical attention and he'd be good as new. Sakura looked at Naruto in amazement.

"He'll make a full recovery" She said as she watched as Haku embraced Naruto with a huge smile on her face. She smiled at the scene herself before her curiosity got the best of her.

"He was in terrible shape and I doubt that I would've been able to save him even with the right equipment in the hospital. What did you do to him?" Sakura asked.

Naruto freed one of his arms from Haku's embrace to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Its really hard to explain, but its one of the new powers that I got from the super Sage gramps" Naruto said before his senses were snapped towards the battle between Gai and Madara.

"I have to go. Bushier Brow-sensei's body is reaching its limit with the Eighth Gate" Naruto said as he gently pushed Haku away.

Haku and Sakura nodded at Naruto. He turned his back to them and gathered his chakra, but before he speeded away he heard them both speak.

"Defeat Madara"

Naruto turned back to both of them and gave them a thumbs up before he vanished and headed towards Madara.

XxXxXx

When Neji and Karin got to where Suigetsu and Darui were unconscious, they recoiled at the sight of Kisame's severed body covering Darui unconscious form. Neji sent a low blast of chakra to move Kisame out of the way before he helped Darui bite Karin.

Karin's chakra supply hadn't fully recovered from keeping Gaara alive, so she wasn't able to give Darui all his chakra back, but she was able to make sure that he regained consciousness. When Darui had opened his eyes, Karin and Neji repeated the process with Suigetsu.

With both shinobi awake once again they looked at Kisame's severed body with sorrow in their eyes; Especially Suigetsu.

"What happened to him?" Karin asked referring to Kisame.

"He had a plan to attack Madara head on with Samehada. He said that no matter what happened he would find a way to immobilize Madara, and when that happened he wanted me to use the Executioner's Blade to take both of them out. The plan seemed to work perfectly, but Madara dodged the attack and hit me with Kisame's upper half" Suigetsu said trailing off because that's all he remembered.

"After that he had me frozen with some sort of Jutsu and threw Kisame's upper half at me so hard that it knocked me out" Darui continued.

Neji and Karin flinched at the gruesome way they had been defeated.

"Well you can rest now. Naruto and Sasuke are fully healed and it seems that they're even stronger now. They're going to take care of Madara" Karin said.

Suigetsu nodded fully believing in Sasuke but Darui was more than a little skeptical.

"I think that you're either severely overestimating Naruto and Sasuke or dangerously underestimating Madara's strength. How do we know that those two would do any better than we did?" Darui asked.

"I've known those two since I was Eight years old. If its one thing I learned from growing up with them it's that they achieve anything that they set their minds too. I have no doubt that they'll end this once and for all" Neji said as he saw both Sasuke and Naruto heading towards Madara from different directions with his Byakugan.

"I also saw that Sasuke now has a Rinnegan with a Sharingan pattern inside of it. Naruto's chakra also feels much stronger than it did before. I don't know what happened to those two when they were near death but their obviously much stronger than they were before" Karin said.

Darui nodded reluctantly and put his faith in the two teenagers like the others did. He just hoped that they got there soon, because by the looks of things Gai didn't have much chakra left.

"Let's hope you're right" Darui said as he watched Gai charge up his final attack.

XxXxXx

Kakashi and Obito got to work freeing the Hokage. Gaara had already pulled the chakra receiver out of Juugo's shoulder so the Hokage were the last people to be freed.

When Minato noticed his former students walking towards them he smiled.

"Seems like someone has finally come to release us from our immobile states" Minato said as Kakashi stopped in front of them.

He let lightning chakra coat his hand as he grabbed the receiver and pulled it out of his sensei. Obito didn't need to coat his hand with chakra when he touched the Chakra receivers because of Hashirama's DNA coursing through his veins.

"Great. Now that we're released, we can finally help Gai against Madara. He's been fighting him alone all this time and he's been doing well, but I can sense that his body is starting to destroy itself because of all the pressure the Gate of Death is putting on him" Minato said as he watched Gai's final attack.

It was a devastating kick that took the form of a giant red Dragon. It landed and Madara coughed up blood and, for the first time since becoming the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki, seemed to be in genuine pain.

A large smoke cloud covered the area as the winds from Gai's attack forced everyone to brace themselves to avoid being blown away.

When the smoke cleared both Madara and Gai were laying in craters. For a moment, everyone believed that Gai might've done it, but after a few seconds of laying on the ground, Madara's laughter could be heard.

They saw that Madara moved his mouth to say something but they couldn't hear it because of how far away they were from the two. Gai's body was badly burned and it wasn't clear if he was still alive or not, but when they saw the finishing attack that Madara was about to fire at him; Minato, Kakashi and Obito were all ready to spring to action, but Hashirama stopped then.

"What are you doing Lord First? He will kill Gai if we don't go help him" Kakashi said visibly panicked. Gai had been his best friend since Obito's 'death' and he did not want to lose him.

"If you go over there then Madara will kill you along with him, but I have a feeling that Madara wont be able to kill Gai" Hashirama said cryptically.

"What are you talking about? Gai's body is no longer able to move and he will die if he takes Madara's next attack head on" Obito said.

"Stop looking with your emotions and actually survey the battlefield. Two figures are closing in on Madara and both of their power surpasses even mine in my prime" Hashirama said shocking the rest of the group into silence. Kakashi and Obito's eyes widened at the same time.

' _ **He couldn't be talking about Naruto and Sasuke? Did they really surpass the God of Shinobi himself?'**_ the two former members of Team Minato thought simultaneously.

Their thoughts were confirmed when Madara fired his attack. Everyone was shocked to see what happened next, but also very hopeful.

' _ **We can still win this war'**_ everyone thought together.

XxXxXx

Madara smirked as he hovered over Gai's prone form. He was incredibly impressed by the man and respected him greatly.

No one aside from Hashirama had ever given Madara such an entertaining fight. The bruises, punctured lung and broken bones that he suffered during the fight with the man were already healing, but the fact that Gai had managed to inflict any damage on him at all was a very impressive feat especially since he did it with only Taijutsu. It was a feat that warranted respect and memory.

"I'll be sure to remember you as one of the most powerful shinobi and one of the few that earned my respect. This battle will forever live in my memory and I commend you for your efforts, but I couldn't let you stand in the way of a perfect reality. Farewell, warrior" Madara said as he fired a truth seeking orb at him.

He was surprised to see Naruto suddenly appear in front of Gai and kick the truth seeker orb away like it was nothing. Before he could fully process the fact that Naruto wasn't dead and had punted one of his Sage attacks, a foot slammed into his face sending him soaring towards the ground.

He rubbed his head as he recovered from the attack. The attack had hit him hard and it actually hurt. Madara wiped the blood from his mouth as he looked up at his attacker in surprise.

Sasuke was glaring back down at him with his Mangekyou glowing in his right eye. That sight alone was enough to make Madara feel tense, but his left eye made Madara's eyes widen.

Sasuke's left eye was a Rinnegan with Sharingan tomoe's littered inside of it. Madara tried to get a closer look at it, but the moment he moved his head up; Sasuke kicked him again sending him a few meters away from Gai's body.

With Madara momentarily out of the picture, Naruto turned to Gai's body.

"Hang in there Bushier Brow-sensei. Everything is going to be okay" Naruto said as he placed a yellow orb into Gai's body.

It was the same orb he used to heal Zabuza earlier, so Naruto figured that it would heal Gai as well. After that, he saw a cloud of sand had manifested itself next to them.

Naruto and Sasuke both knew who it belonged too and carefully placed Gai's body on it. As soon as they did, the cloud moved away from the battlefield and towards the medic ninjas.

Not a moment too soon as Madara erupted from a pile of rubble that he had been buried in. He hovered in the air above the two with a expressionless face.

"I don't what happened to you two, but I can see that you're both alive and much stronger than you were when I killed you. Care to explain how that happened?" Madara asked as he crossed his arms.

"We don't owe you any explanation, just know that we will defeat you and avenge the Hyuuga heads" Sasuke said.

Madara looked confused for a moment before he remembered the two Hyuugas that gave their lives for the lives of their children.

"Avenge them? You misunderstand young Uchiha. They both willingly gave their lives to ensure that their children live to see the perfect world" Madara said.

"Shut it you super Bastard. You cant justify you murdering them and trying to imprison the entire world" Naruto growled. Madara simply raised his eyebrow.

"We're all murderers. That's the way of a shinobi, but once I activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, nobody will have to murder anyone again. That's what I've been trying to tell you two" Madara said as if he was scolding children.

"That's enough. I don't care what way you have of rationalizing what you did. You killed Hinata and Neji's only remaining parents and started a war that has probably claimed the lives of many more shinobi. Sometimes the ends don't justify the means Madara. It's unfortunate that someone as smart as you still haven't realized this even with the second life that you're living now" Sasuke said knowing that it took him living his second life to understand this fact himself.

"You know nothing, but if you still insist on trying to stop me then I'll just have to kill you both again" Madara said as he glared at the two teenagers.

"You can try but in the end it'll be us that ends you" Sasuke said returning the glare with the same amount of malice.

"Sasuke's right. I think its finally time for us to put you down and end this war" Naruto said as he activated his Bijuu Mode.

Madara looked down at the two internally surprised by the power radiating from the two of them. Naruto's Bijuu mode seemed to be even more powerful, not to mention the fact that he had two chakra receivers and nine truth seeker orbs orbiting around his back. Sasuke seemed even more menacing with the Rinnegan and Madara didn't know what other new powers he gained with the ultimate Dojutsu.

Madara smirked at the two. They had certainly gotten powerful, but Madara possessed both of their abilities. He had six paths sage mode and the Rinnegan so he wasn't worried about them as much as he probably should've been. He knew that he'd prevail in the end and create the Perfect World.

"Well should we begin?" Madara asked with a smirk.

"After you" Sasuke replied.

"We're going to kick your ass. BELIEVE IT!" Naruto yelled.

And with that, the three shinobi clashed and the ultimate battle for the fate of the shinobi world began.

 **TBC**

 **I honestly can't apologize enough for how long these updates are taking me to complete. Between College and work I'm extremely busy, but that's no excuse and I'll try my best to be quicker to update the story. Especially since I keep leaving off on cliffhangers lol. Anyway on to the reviews**

 **Muzicaldove- Thank you for your review. I have to tally up the votes to see whether or not that will happen, but I wish that's how it would've been in canon.**

 **Splaaash-attack- I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and we'll just have to wait and the see. The final battle has just begun.**

 **That one Kitsune- Thank you for reading it, and thank you for your vote. By the looks of my inbox it seems that you might get what you want.**

 **Francisca Anita- LMAOO That's not happening and my name isn't Ashley, but I respect the nerve. Usually only guest reviewers say something that reckless but you reviewed it with your Pen Name. That's interesting lol. But have a nice day.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and I'm glad that you think that. You've been here since the beginning so I hope that Ive gotten better since then. And idk if I'll make a sequel to this. Maybe? I don't know if my fic is good enough to have a sequel honestly, and I definitely plan to write more fics when this one is over.**

 **MrBogus- Thanks and Thank you for taking the time to read it**

 **GamerArtist16- That's such high praise! Thank you so much for saying that, It means a lot to me. There's definitely going to be 'The Last' for this story, but Idk about the next generation. I didn't think that it was something that people would be interested in. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **Blackheartedgirl1997- sorry for the wait. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.**

 **SilverKitsune2017- …I didn't ever expect you to read my story, let alone review It. Thank you so much! I cant believe that you enjoyed the first chapter so much. I just hope you still feel the same if you make it this far.**

 **Thank you for everyone who continues to Read and Review. You have at most 1 more chapter to decide whether or not Kaguya shows up before the end of this battle, so please tell me what you'd prefer and Please continue to give me feedback by reviewing – Dishon 3.**


	41. Infinite Tsukuyomi

**Chapter 41**

Madara was struggling to gain the upper hand in the battle against the combined might of Naruto and Sasuke.

They had a brief exchange in Taijutsu and it was clear to Madara that they had the upper hand in that area. They were completely in sync. Every time Naruto left an opening in his defenses, Sasuke would cover for him before Madara could take advantage of it and vice versa. Madara had no way of defeating them both in Taijutsu if they continued to fight together like this. He decided that he couldn't afford to play around with them like he did with Gai because if he did then he knew that they would almost certainly kill him. That was not an outcome that Madara welcomed or accepted.

Just as he decided to get serious, he realized that Naruto had suddenly appeared in front of him with his staff raised over his head ready to strike him. He didn't have enough time to react to the attack himself, but fortunately he didn't have to as one of his Limbo clones blocked the attack for him.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes both widened at this. Soon after this, Naruto was sent flying back by the clone. Sasuke caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Did you feel that? Its like there was another Madara but I didn't see Madara create any clones" Naruto asked in confusion.

"I did feel it and I saw it as well. There is another Madara floating in front of the Original. He's invisible to the naked eye but I can see him with my Rinnegan. He came out of Madara's body quickly when Madara noticed your attack" Sasuke replied.

Madara was inwardly surprised that both of them knew about his Limbo clones but he wasn't worried about it too much. Just because they knew about them didn't mean that they could counter the technique.

Madara was about to fly towards them to try to separate them, but when he blinked Sasuke was in front of him. Sasuke grabbed his sword from Madara's waistband as he kicked Madara in the stomach.

Madara sent a fist as a counterattack at the teenager but Sasuke was replaced by a rock that shattered at the impact. Madara looked on in surprise at Sasuke who was standing a few meters away where the rock originally was.

' _ **How did he do that? There's no way that he can move that fast… did he switch locations with the rock?'**_ Madara thought but he didn't have much time to think to himself as Naruto had appeared next to him. He released all four of his Limbo clones to fend off Naruto as he flew towards Sasuke.

He figured that if he split them up, they wouldn't be as difficult to deal with. Sasuke noticed Madara's strategy and smirked to himself. A one on one fight suited Sasuke just fine; He'd now have his chance to avenge Neji and Hinata's fathers along with every other person Madara killed; although Sasuke honestly didn't care about the others that much.

Madara smirked when he saw Sasuke stand his ground with the intention of fighting him alone, but the smirk left his face quickly when Sasuke unsheathed his blade and stabbed him twice in his chest. It all happened so fast that Madara didn't have any time to dodge the attacks.

All he could do was move slightly so that the attacks didn't hit his heart. Sasuke smirked at the shocked look on Madara's face as he hit the ground. He stood over him for a moment before he slammed his sword into Madara's shoulder with his lightening chakra swirling through the blade, effectively pinning him down.

"You feel that pain? That's what you made the Hyuuga Heads feel as you killed them. I'm going to kill you, but I wanted you to understand their helplessness before I did" Sasuke said as he glared down at Madara.

Madara growled at Sasuke's words and tried to use the 'Almighty Push' to create more space between him and Sasuke, but Sasuke's Rinnegan glowed as well and cancelled out the attack.

"I may still be getting used to this Rinnegan, but don't think that you'll be able to use the basic Rinnegan abilities on me effectively. I'm smart enough to figure out cancellations to the basic Rinnegan techniques like the 'Almighty Push' and 'Universal Pull'" Sasuke said as he raised his arm over his head. His Chidori sparked to life with black lightning. Madara looked up at Sasuke with shock and a little fear as the teen was ready to slam the Chidori into Madara's forehead.

Madara's eyes widened as he tried to think about ways to escape the electric execution but he didn't need too as he was saved by Naruto, who had defeated all of his limbo clones. Madara watched as he grabbed Sasuke's arm, effectively stopping his attack.

"Wait we shouldn't kill him like that. Remember Super Sage Gramps said that it would be safer for us and everyone else if we just sealed him away instead" Naruto said.

Sasuke glared at his friend for the interruption. Who did Naruto think he was trying to get in the way of his revenge like this?

"You better let me go right now loser" Sasuke said calmly but the frown present on his face let Naruto know that he was agitated. Naruto didn't back down though.

"No. Super Sage Gramps told us to seal him away to prevent his mother being brought back to life" Naruto said still not letting go of Sasuke's arm.

"Why does it matter? Killing him will be just as effective as sealing him away." Sasuke argued while ripping his arm out of Naruto's grasp.

"You don't know that" Naruto fired back.

Madara couldn't help but to see the similarities between them and Hashirama and himself. He didn't know what the two were arguing about but he honestly didn't care. He knew that this was the perfect opportunity to get some distance between himself and them.

" **SAGE ART: GALE STYLE LIGHT FANG"**

A Stream of Light left Madara's mouth and soared towards Naruto and Sasuke at a blinding speed.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were able to dodge the attack, but Madara had enough time to pull the sword out of his shoulder and gain some space from the two powerful teenagers.

That had been too close of a call to Madara. He could see his death for a moment and that pissed him off. He was now completely done playing around. He would now activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but first he would have to find a way to distract Sasuke and Naruto long enough to do so.

XxXxXx

Everyone had met up a few meters away from the battle and were having similar thoughts about the situation.

"I can't believe that those two decided to argue while Madara was pinned down and allowed him to escape like that. Do they not understand what's at stake here?" Darui asked as he frowned at the two teenagers.

"I think that they understand, but they had differences in how to handle Madara. Maybe there's a better way of dealing with him that doesn't involve killing him" Hashirama said sounding a little hopeful.

"That could explain why Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist like that but if that was the case then why would Sasuke react that way to it?" Obito asked.

"Knowing Sasuke, he's probably trying to avenge the deaths of Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuuga. He cares deeply about Hinata and outside of Naruto, Neji is his closest friend. He might feel that it's his responsibility to avenge their parents for them" Kakashi said.

Neji and Hinata both sighed knowing that this was likely true. Sasuke didn't really accept many friends but he was extremely loyal to those that he did accept. It was very possible that he wanted to kill Madara for them as a way to help ease their pain.

"It doesn't matter why there was an argument between them. Its clear to see that Madara had been pinned by Sasuke and was moments away from dying. Sasuke and Naruto are both stronger than we could've ever anticipated and I have no doubt that they can defeat Madara" Gaara said watching his two best friends fight Madara with a prideful smirk on his face.

"You're right Kazekage, but if you can see that then you know that Madara can see that as well. He'll get desperate, and desperate people are often the most dangerous type of people" Minato said.

"You're very right about that Minato. I think that Naruto shouldn't have interfered. Sasuke obviously had the situation under control and was about to end things once and for all. What do you teach your students Jiraiya?"

"Don't put this on Naruto! There's obviously a reason why Naruto prevented Sasuke from killing Madara just now. Don't assume anything"

The group turned around to see that Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Kabuto had arrived on the battlefield, but they weren't alone. More and more of the Allied Shinobi forces were beginning to arrive as well.

"Lord Orochimaru? Kabuto? What are you guys doing here?" Suigetsu asked.

"Isn't it obvious Suigetsu? We're here to help Sasuke" Kabuto said, but he stopped talking when a kunai was placed by his neck courtesy of Itachi.

"Don't act as though you've always been on our side Kabuto. I had my suspicions that you were the one that's been controlling that the Reanimated Shinobi that we've been fighting during the war and Sasuke confirmed my suspicions when he personally told me that you were behind the Edo Tensei. Did you truly believe that nobody would care about that? That I would simply forget about all that happened? Especially after you resurrected my family to attack the Village!? You have some nerve coming here claiming that you're going to help" Itachi said as the pressed the cold steel closer to Kabuto's neck.

After hearing that Kabuto was the one responsible for the Reanimated Shinobi that had been attacking and killing them during the war, the shinobi that had arrived began calling for his death.

More and more of the Allied Shinobi forces were arriving by the second. Within a few moments the entire force had arrived and were calling for Kabuto's death.

"He's too dangerous to be left alive"

"He resurrected my boyfriend and I was struggling with my emotions the entire fight with him. He should be killed"

"He's a grave robber. We cant just let that slide and act as though that can be forgiven"

Kabuto looked around as he was completely outnumbered. He feared for his life, as most of the shinobi were now yelling at Itachi to finish him off.

"So you're the shinobi that mastered my technique to such a level? I'd say you were an impressive stripling if you wasn't the one solely responsible for the death of so many shinobi during this war. Seems like the survivors are out for your blood" Tobirama said as he walked through the crowd of shinobi that had gathered around Kabuto to stand next to his brother.

"Itachi, you're the one who caught him. His fate is up to you, but I think that you know what should be done" Hiruzen said after Tobirama had finished speaking.

When Kabuto felt that Itachi pressed the Kunai even tighter against his throat, drawing blood, he began to panic.

"Wait you shouldn't kill me! I released the Reanimation Jutsu of my own free will and I didn't even want to follow Madara! He was just far too powerful for me to go against. You cant possibly blame me for valuing my life" Kabuto said.

Kabuto's plea seemed to fall on deaf ears as the other shinobi in the area continued to call for his death.

Orochimaru was trying to speak on his behalf, but because of his more than questionable past as a rouge shinobi, nobody was listening to him. Kabuto was grateful to him for trying, but he knew that he was more than likely about to meet his end.

When he felt Itachi's hand tense as if he was going to slit his throat; Kabuto closed his eyes to prepare himself for the end, but the voice he heard made him open them again.

"Please Itachi, Don't kill him"

XxXxXx

Itachi loosened his grip on the Kunai slightly as he recognized the voice but he didn't remove it from Kabuto's throat.

Everyone turned their heads towards the single voice that disputed Kabuto's death. Hinata blushed a little at the attention of the Allied Forces, but she didn't back down as she walked towards Itachi and Kabuto.

"Lady Hinata what are you saying?" A random Hyuuga asked.

"I know that he's caused a lot of grief for all of us, but he's my sensei and he also did a lot of good for all of us as well if you really think about it" Hinata said.

Itachi and Kabuto both looked at Hinata as if she was crazy, along with the rest of the Shinobi that were present.

"How is that?" A random stone shinobi asked.

"Just think about it. He brought all of us together as a Allied Force. Before this war, all of our relations with each other were shaky at best. In fact my clan hated Kumogakure for trying to kidnap me, and they hate the fact that Ao of the Mist Village has a Byakugan, but we've overlooked all of this to become allies during this war. Can't you see that without Kabuto's attack, we'd probably still be fighting amongst ourselves" Hinata said.

People looked away to think about what the heiress had said. Hinata could see that some were still skeptical, but she had another point to make that would hopefully soothe their rage towards Kabuto.

"Also by Reanimating the Shinobi closest to us that may have died prematurely; Kabuto gave us a chance to receive the closure that some of us desperately needed" Hinata said.

At these words many of the Shinobi started to see the truth of what Hinata was saying.

Kakashi did receive the closure that he needed from his father. He and Obito both got to speak to Rin once more, and that conversation definitely helped both Obito and Kakashi get over their mutual guilt for Rin's death. Itachi got to speak to his family again and get forgiveness for his actions, and even Tobirama was grateful for the opportunity to face Kinkaku and Ginkaku again to get revenge on his defeat.

With these thoughts in mind, Itachi reluctantly removed his Kunai from Kabuto's neck and glared at him.

"Consider yourself lucky that my future little sister has such a big heart. If she didn't argue so valiantly on your behalf you'd be dead by now" Itachi said before he turned away from him.

Kabuto placed his hand to his neck to heal the damage left there by Itachi's kunai, then he turned to his former student.

"Thank you for that Hinata" Kabuto said with a smile not expecting what happened next.

Hinata smacked Kabuto with a palm full of destructive medical chakra that knocked the man to the ground. HARD.

"I'm not happy with you. Why did you think that you needed to resurrect Madara and go against the Shinobi world?" Hinata asked with an angry look on her face.

It was such a fierce look that people involuntarily took a step away from her, and turned their heads away. They didn't wanna be involved in that. A mad female shinobi was always a scary thing; especially one as powerful as Hinata.

Kabuto thought about trying to explain the fact that he thought that Orochimaru was dead and that that's what he would've wanted, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that Hinata wouldn't accept that as an excuse. So instead he just continued to apologize.

Luckily, Hinata was a very forgiving person.

"Don't do nothing stupid like that ever again. You're lucky that Itachi didn't kill you, but you might not be so lucky after Sasuke and Naruto defeat Madara. If Sasuke turns against you then Orochimaru will as well, and I wont stand against my fiancé" Hinata warned as she turned away from her former teacher to continue to watch the battle.

Orochimaru walked over and helped Kabuto up off the ground with a devious smirk on his face.

"She's right you know. So I advise you to stay on your best behavior if you don't want to die when this is all over" Orochimaru said.

Kabuto nodded as the two turned to watch the fight as well.

XxXxXx

Madara was getting frustrated.

Naruto and Sasuke were attacking him continually so that he couldn't get a big enough opening to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Every time that he knocked one back, the other one got a hit in on him, and to make matters worst he saw that the rest of the Shinobi Alliance had converged on this battlefield which could've only meant two things.

Either they defeated all of the Reanimated Shinobi and Kabuto's dead, or that Kabuto had turned on him, and judging by the sheer number of alive shinobi their were; Madara had a feeling that he knew which one it was.

' _ **That damn snake thinks that he can turn his back on me and live to see the Perfect World? Unacceptable'**_ Madara thought to himself as he created two wood clones to keep Sasuke and Naruto occupied as he flew over to the group of Shinobi watching the fight.

Naruto and Sasuke made quick work of the wood clones and followed after Madara, but they were too far behind him to prevent him from doing whatever he was planning to do to the others.

"We're not gonna make it in time and I cant fire any attacks that won't hurt the others. Can you stop him?" Naruto said.

Sasuke was too focused to respond to his best friends question. It looked as if Madara was headed straight for where Hinata was and Sasuke refused to let anything happen to her.

"Stay here and be ready to attack. I'll be right back" Sasuke said as he focused on Hinata.

"What?" Naruto asked but when he turned to look at Sasuke, he noticed that Hinata was there instead.

"Hinata? How did you get there?" Naruto asked shocked.

"I don't know. I blinked and I was moved here" Hinata said sounding just as surprised as Naruto was.

They both looked over to see that Sasuke was where Hinata had just been. The swap caught Madara off guard, and Sasuke used the opportunity to send Madara flying back towards where Hinata and Naruto were.

A second later, Hinata and Sasuke swapped positions once again as Naruto delivered a powerful kick that sent Madara up into the air. Madara was flying uncontrollably for a minute before he regained control of his body and stopped his motions so that he could hover in the air. Naruto was impressed.

"Your Rinnegan ability is really something special Sasuke" Naruto said.

"Yeah but it takes a lot of Chakra. We have to end this soon" Sasuke replied. Naruto nodded, ready to do just that.

Madara was furious. It was like Sasuke and Naruto were everywhere and wouldn't let him to anything. He had had enough. He decided to destroy the entire area with meteors, and even if they didn't destroy the area, they would definitely give him enough time to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Madara clasped his hands together and gathered enough chakra to call down at least forty meteors.

A group of shadows covered the entire battlefield causing Naruto, Sasuke and the rest of the Shinobi to look up to the sky. Jaws dropped as Meteor after Meteor rained from the sky and headed towards them.

"Is he insane?" Hashirama as he gathered his chakra together to send a few attacks at the meteors

"Shit. How do we even deal with that? I don't have any long range attacks and even if I did they wouldn't be powerful enough to destroy a meteor" Suigetsu said. Most of the shinobi mentally agreed with Suigetsu as some even dropped their weapons and excepted their fates.

Sasuke and Itachi both activated their Perfect Susanno's and flew up to cut the meteors while they were still high above the ground. Naruto, Minato and Jiraiya sent Rasengan after Rasengan to destroy the chunks of meteors left by the Uchiha brothers.

Madara smirked, knowing that everyone's attention was now on the meteors. This was the perfect time to activate his Infinite Tsukuyomi.

He flew up to the moon and removed the covering on his forehead, revealing a the third eye on his forehead. It glared up into the moon until the moon turned a blood red color that matched Madara's third eye. Tomoe's filled the moon and then a giant tree bloomed and covered the entire area.

"Finally, I've done it. Now stop all your worthless fighting and dream forever within the Infinite Tsukuyomi!" Madara said as he finished activating the Jutsu.

Sasuke and Itachi had just finished cutting the last of the meteors when they noticed that the giant tree had bloomed. They both looked at the moon and noticed the Sharingan pattern littered throughout the giant orb of light. Itachi tensed as he knew that was a bad sign.

"He's about to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi! Sasuke we have to get back down to the ground and shield the others from the moon" Itachi said.

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice as he zoomed back down to the ground. His first thought was to find Hinata, and he was relieved to see that she was next to Obito, Naruto and the rest of Team 7.

He dropped down in front of them and quickly shielded everyone from the bright light that was beginning to consume the area. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Itachi land and cover another group of people, but that was the last thing he saw before the blinding light completely consumed them.

XxXxXx

The branches of the tree spread throughout the world and wrapped up person after person.

The shinobi couldn't even try to fight it as they were stuck in the Genjutsu as soon as their eyes made contact with the Red Moon. Their eyes took on the pattern of the Rinnegan as they were trapped by the tree.

Madara smirked as he saw shinobi after shinobi getting grabbed by the tree. Their bodies were wrapped by the bark and hung from the tree like branches.

He let out a sigh of relief knowing that he had finally achieved the goal that he had been planning for so long. A genuine smile spread on his face as the last Ninja of the Shinobi Alliance was grabbed.

The boy's name was Neji. He remembered it because he fought valiantly against him, and his father and uncle both gave their lives to ensure that he wouldn't be killed.

He was satisfied that he was able to keep his promise. As Neji was taken away by the tree and hung upside down; Madara finally noticed the familiar Perfect Susanno's that seemed to be hiding away from the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The smile was instantly wiped off his face and replaced with a frown. Madara just couldn't understand why his relatives felt the need to be defiant to this extent. Now that he had activated the Jutsu, the only way to dispose of his descendants was to kill them.

' _ **Why did they do that? I wanted them to live through their Perfect World, but now their stuck here in this flawed existence with me. We Uchiha must just like to torture ourselves as a clan'**_ Madara thought to himself as he shook his head and continued to look around until he noticed that the Reanimated Hokage were all still there seemingly unaffected by the Jutsu.

Madara flew down to where they had convened. Tobirama and Hiruzen were instantly on guard as Madara approached them, but Hashirama stopped them from attacking him before they found out any useful information.

"Hashirama, I wasn't expecting you to remain here when the Jutsu was cast" Madara said with what sounded like relief in his voice.

Hashirama frowned at his friend. He couldn't believe that Madara had the nerve to try to strike a casual conversation after trapping the rest of the world in an Genjutsu. Tobirama voiced Hashirama's thoughts.

"You evil fuck! Our era ended long ago. Why did you feel the need to return to life to carry out your evil plans?" Tobirama asked while getting in Madara's face.

Instead of answering, Madara punched Tobirama in the face knocking the man to the ground, before slamming a Chakra Receiver into his head. Madara smirked at the sight.

"To be honest I've been wanting to do that for a very long time. I just wish that you were actually alive so that I could've seen the agonized look on your face as you died. Luckily for me, you're an Edo Tensei and I can spend the rest of eternity killing you over and over again if I so pleased" Madara said with a short laugh.

Hiruzen and Minato both tensed, while Hashirama sighed and moved to place himself between Madara and Tobirama's pinned form.

"This isn't over Madara. Sasuke and Naruto are going to defeat you and make you reverse the Jutsu" Hashirama said with the upmost certainty in his voice. Madara raised his eyebrow at his friend before speaking.

"You put too much faith in our fellow incarnates. I don't think that they can defeat me in battle, and even if they could defeat me; I know of no ways to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi" Madara said getting Hiruzen's attention.

"What do you mean by fellow incarnates?" Hiruzen asked.

Madara ignored him as he looked over to where the two Perfect Susanno's were still covering a group of people.

"In any case they are more than welcome to try, but they'll see the futilely of the fight soon enough. In fact I'll go inform them that its safe to deactivate their Susanno's" Madara said as he left the Kage to walk over to the group.

When he got there he took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Hey the Jutsu is already in affect so you can come out now. It's too late for you to het trapped" Madara yelled loud enough so he knew that they could hear him from inside their Susanno's.

Maybe he could try to coexist with them if they weren't too stubborn about trying to resist him. Only time will tell though. Madara had a feeling that they'd still be trying to defeat him.

"Oh well, cant be helped. I'll try to explain it, but if they don't listen then I'll have no choice but to kill them" Madara said to himself lowly, completely unaware of the presence slowly creeping up behind him.

' _ **I can't believe that the mission that I've been executing for so long is finally about to be complete. All I have to do is kill Madara and then everything will be complete. It's time to finally revive you… Mother'**_ the figure thought as he raised his hand a prepared to strike Madara.

Then blood flew into the air.

 **TBC**

 **We all know who the person that was creeping behind Madara was. This is the moment of truth. This is the last time to put your vote in whether or not Kaguya appears. The reviews and PM's this chapter are very important in that decision making. Its very close right now so I don't know which is gonna happen, but know that your vote would mean a lot on what happens.**

 **Xhope14x- Wow thank you for reading this fic all the way through. I'm glad that you've enjoyed it.**

 **Metacllica- Thank you so much! I hope I don't disappoint your expectations.**

 **HiNAPRiNCESS22- Thanks for reading and reviewing! And wow you re-read the whole story O_O. I wont lie, I still haven't done that myself lol. I hope I didn't make you wait too long for this update.**

 **Guest- Your vote still counts, but can you please give me a guest name so that I can properly respond to you.**

 **Sara-Nadia- I hope that this was soon enough. Last time was far to long.**

 **GamerArtist16- Thanks for this review. I know that I shouldn't be stressing over it too much, but as a big fanfiction lover myself, I don't like the wait it takes for some of my favorite authors to update. I want to be able to update as often as I can so you guys don't have to wait too long and lose interest. And thank you for your vote, and no problem. I was answer any questions that are asked me.**

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 **Thank you to everyone who continues to support and read the fic. Remember this is the last chance to vote on whether or not Kaguya appears in the story so please Review or PM me your preference. Until next time : ) - Dishon 3**


	42. Kaguya Otsutsuki

**Chapter 42**

Sasuke and Itachi both deactivated their Perfect Susanno's when they heard Madara's voice. Team 7, Hinata and Obito were protected by Sasuke, while Itachi protected Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Kabuto. They were expecting Madara to be there with a triumphant smirk on his face but they weren't expecting the site that greeted them when they finally looked at him.

Madara stood a few feet in front of them with a surprised look on his face, but that wasn't the thing that surprised them. It was the fact that Black Zetsu had his arm through Madara's chest that really threw them off. Wasn't Black Zetsu supposed to be on Madara's side? Why did he turn on Madara.

Madara coughed up a fair amount of blood as his eyes met Black Zetsu's. This was the last person that Madara would've ever expected to betray him, and he was also the weakest person that had ever gotten a hit on him that Madara didn't allow. Madara was enraged by that fact, but he couldn't even move to exact his revenge.

Somehow Black Zetsu was keeping him immobile through the hole in his chest. Madara wasn't able to attack, and what's worse is that both he and Black Zetsu knew this fact.

"Finally the time has come to finish my mission" Black Zetsu said with a smirk on his face. He began infusing his chakra through Madara and Madara could begin to feel the shift in his chakra starting to turn him into something else; someone else.

"What do you mean finish your mission? Why are you betraying me? I created you" Madara said as he tried to escape from Black Zetsu's grasp to no avail.

"You created me? Foolish Indra incarnate, it is I who created you" Black Zetsu said with a smirk on his face. When he saw the confused faces of all of the others; he clarified more.

"It was I who manipulated the older child of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, when he was just a boy. Indra was a good willed child just like Ashura was, but he had a lot of power that the younger brother simply didn't possess. He was fiercely protective of his younger brother Ashura and he was very loyal to his father and his beliefs, but he was also observant and smart for his age. When he started noticing how strong he was in comparison to his brother, I began to talk to him about using that power to make the world better. At first he was skeptical of me, and he could've very well killed me, but as he grew older, I was in his ear more and more until he finally began to listen to me" Black Zetsu said with a smirk on his face as he watched the reactions of the others.

Everyone listened as Black Zetsu continued his story.

"Eventually I convinced him that power was the most important thing to have in this world, and that it was the only way to truly secure peace. He began to close himself away from his beloved little brother and focus more on gaining power. When Hagoromo named Ashura the one who would take over Ninshu for him, Indra left the village vulnerable and hurt and I took full advantage of that. It only took a few well placed words to get Indra to return to the Village to attack both his Father and Ashura. His little brother that he loved and adored so much was cast aside for the sake of power and Indra swore that he would keep coming back until his beliefs won, while Ashura swore that he would keep coming back to ensure that Indra's beliefs would never win. I was the one started the cycle of hatred between the Indra and Ashura incarnates" Black Zetsu said as he infused more and more chakra into Madara.

Sasuke and Naruto were upset, but Hashirama was the most furious at the information. Black Zetsu was the cause of everything that he and Madara went through. All the pain that they endured and all the troubles they had getting along were because of him. Hashirama was itching to attack, but he wanted to hear what else Black Zetsu was responsible for.

"I was also the one who wrote the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Everything that Madara believed to be true about the Infinite Tsukuyomi was a carefully scripted lie that I wrote all those decades ago. It's true that the people inside of the Chakra Tree are experiencing their Perfect Reality, but this is not eternal. In fact, they are eventually all going to be turned into White Zetsu" Black Zetsu said.

Madara and Hashirama both tensed at that. Madara was not in the position to react but Hashirama was incensed enough to send an attack at Black Zetsu. Unfortunately for him, his attack was blocked by a wall of incredible chakra.

"Does that anger you Ashura incarnate?" Black Zetsu asked with obvious humor in his tone.

"Y-You're the r-reason that I left the V-Village. I t-thought that I w-was the best s-suited to lead t-the world into an everlasting p-peace, but it was just a lie that I foolishly believed" Madara stuttered out through the pain.

"That's right you fool, and now all of my patience is finally being rewarded. I can finally revive Mother" Black Zetsu said.

Naruto and Sasuke both froze as they knew who this 'mother' was. It was the same 'mother' that the Sage of Six Paths warned them about during their near death experience. It was Kaguya Otsutsuki, the first person to ever have chakra.

"Now watch in fear and amazement as Mother is brought back. You can try to run now, but there is no place that you can go that Mother wont find you. These are your final moments" Black Zetsu said as he infused the last of his chakra into Madara.

Madara's body swelled up more and more as he was begin to be consumed by all the chakra, but before he could be completely consumed he looked at Hashirama, Naruto and Sasuke. One was his best friend and the other two were the incarnates of Indra and Ashura just like He and Hashirama were.

His eyes were now open and he realized the severity of his mistakes throughout both of his lives. If these were his last moments, then he was determined to make them mean something.

"Hashirama, Naruto… I'm sorry. There probably were better ways to bring a-about peace, b-but I thought that my way was m-more certain. S-Sasuke, you have to succeed where the r-rest of u-us Indra incarnates have failed… I have faith, d-defeat her and save the people that I trapped in the I-Infinite Tsukuyomi"

Those were Madara's last words before his head was engulfed into the rest of his body. Hashirama, Naruto and Sasuke were only given a few moments to digest Madara's final words before they shuddered from feeling the insane amount of chakra coming from the body Madara was engulfed into.

Then only seconds later, the body of Kaguya Otsutsuki arrived on the battlefield. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with a determined expression and nodded. They knew that the real battle starts now.

XxXxXx

Hinata shivered at the amount of chakra that she felt coming from Kaguya. She, along with the others, witnessed Black Zetsu's confession of being the one who caused everything along with Madara's final words, but she was too overwhelmed by the overbearing presence of Kaguya.

She activated her Byakugan to check Kaguya's chakra network, but the action caused Kaguya's head to snap towards her. Her Byakugan looked very similar to Hinata's own, but Hinata knew that Kaguya's was on a whole nother level. She hadn't even activated hers yet, but Hinata still felt like she was being thoroughly scanned by the other woman.

"Hamura…" Kaguya said as she took a step towards Hinata, only to be stopped by the combined presence of Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hagoromo?" Kaguya said as she stared at the two.

Sasuke and Naruto both shivered at the look they were getting from the woman, but stayed focused. All they had to do is find a way to touch the woman with their seals and it'll be all over, but they knew that that was much easier said than done.

"All of you belong to me. I'll be taking back my chakra now" Kaguya said as she looked at Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yes mother, attack Naruto and Sasuke. They've been very troublesome for me" Black Zetsu said from inside Kaguya's sleeve.

Kaguya ignored him and charged towards the group, but she wasn't aiming at Sasuke or Naruto. Everyone's eyes widened because she was heading straight towards Hinata. Sasuke acted quickly and switched he and Hinata's location as Kaguya sent her first attack.

Sasuke managed to switch in time but he wasn't able to block in time as he was hit full force by Kaguya's attack sending him flying a few feet away.

"SASUKE!" Everyone yelled as they braced themselves to fight Kaguya.

Naruto charged in to attack her, but he was forced back by the pressure of Kaguya's chakra as she activated her Byakugan.

Everyone was forced to brace themselves as Kaguya released a portion of her chakra. Then they were all suddenly falling as Kaguya transported everyone except for the Reanimated Shinobi to another dimension full of Lava.

Naruto thought quickly and made platforms out of his truth seeking orbs before throwing them under the ones who were falling towards the Lava, saving Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Obito, Kakashi, Sakura, and Hinata, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya having to share one. Itachi and Sasuke managed to to activate their Susanno's before they were consumed by the Lava.

"Where are we?" Jiraiya asked as he surveyed his surroundings.

"I don't know, but the fact that she had enough power to transport all of us to a random dimension in the blink of an eye is mind boggling" Orochimaru responded.

"This is the same as our Mangekyou ability, but on a much larger scale" Obito said to Kakashi.

"Yeah, but we'd both need an insane amount of chakra to even open a portal to the other dimensions that aren't our Kamui dimension. Her ability is on another level" Kakashi replied.

"It's actually unnerving that she tried to end us all like that. I'm so glad that Naruto is able to turn those truth seeker orbs into disks that we can stand on. Otherwise, we'd be toast right now" Sakura said as she stared down at the Lava.

"Yeah no kidding. Not even we'd be able to heal from that, huh Hinata" Kabuto said with a nervous laugh as he looked at the Lava. Hinata glared at him.

"This is not the time for jokes. Get focused, we're facing the mother of all chakra right now" Hinata said with a frown on her face.

Itachi and Sasuke both looked at each other from inside their Susanno's and nodded simultaneously. They both knew that this woman was the strongest person that they'd ever face; even stronger than Madara himself, but they hypothesized that she didn't have a true combat sense.

"Only one way to find out" Sasuke said ending his mental conversation with his older brother before firing an Susanno Arrow infused with Senjutsu towards Kaguya from behind everyone.

She assessed the attack with curious eyes before she opened a portal to another dimension making the attack head there. Then she opened another portal that redirected the arrow back at Sasuke who smirked as her action.

His Rinnegan glowed as he switched his position with Kaguya, shocking the woman.

"MOTHER!" Black Zetsu yelled as the attack collided with Kaguya.

Her face showed that she felt no pain from the attack, but there were a few visible signs that she took damage. The biggest of which being the deep frown on her face that sent chills down everyone's spine, but all of the geniuses present noticed with Itachi and Sasuke had assumed.

"Seems like all you did with that attack was piss her off Sasuke" Naruto said as he floated over to him.

"You're right that he pissed her off, but he also proved something very important in this battle" Kakashi said.

"What's that?" Obito said in confusion.

"Sasuke has just shown us that though Kaguya is insanely powerful; she lacks the combat instincts to truly capitalize on her obvious power advantage on Sasuke and Naruto" Orochimaru explained.

Sasuke, Itachi and Kakashi nodded at his explanation but Naruto, Obito and Jiraiya still needed more information.

"Okay but how does that help us?" Jiraiya asked.

"If Naruto and Sasuke can be sporadic and unpredictable with their attacks then they can cause a great amount of damage. We can also support by firing attacks when we see an opening. She'll most likely be overwhelmed and then Sasuke and Naruto can seal her away" Itachi said.

At this , Naruto, Jiraiya and Obito's eyes widened in realization. Now they completely understood what the others had been trying to say the entire time, but there was still a minor problem to this plan. Not everyone had long range attacks.

"Wait what about those of us who don't have any long range Jutsu? What would we do to help?" Sakura asked mainly because she was one of the ones that didn't have any long range Jutsu that she could rely on. Her whole fighting style revolved around getting close and personal to her opponent.

"Sakura you're Tsunade's apprentice and quite possibly the best medic in the shinobi world and Kabuto is also probably one of the best medics because of his extensive knowledge of multiple medical jutsu's including the forbidden ones. Your role of keeping us all in good shape is arguably the most important because I highly doubt that we'd be able to overwhelm her without some of us suffering some sort of injury" Orochimaru said

"Hinata is also a great medic but I doubt she'll simply stay in the background if I'm out in the frontlines. In fact, I'm almost sure that she'll send more than a few lightning air palms at Kaguya" Sasuke said with his tone a mix of annoyance, worry and pride.

Hinata didn't say anything but everyone knew that Sasuke was right. Hinata was just as protective of Sasuke as he was with her, so her attacking Kaguya to help Sasuke was well inside the realm of possibility for her.

"Well now that we've decided what we're going to do, we better get on it. I doubt she's going to wait forever" Naruto said.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Black Zetsu spoke up from his hiding place inside of Kaguya's sleeve.

"I hope you know that nothing that you come up with will work on mother because she's no longer playing with you fools. Mother its time to dispose of these weaklings" He said.

Kaguya raised her arms and teleported everyone once again. This time they looked around to see an icy mountain range. They were all cold and had no defense against the sub zero environment.

"Well we should at least be grateful that we now have somewhere to stand" Itachi said as he and Sasuke deactivated their Susanno's, and Naruto called back his truth seeker orbs, letting everyone land in the snow.

Jiraiya noticed Orochimaru shiver and couldn't resist the opportunity to mock his long time friend.

"This must be really tough for you Orochimaru with the temperatures changing drastically like that. Your insides must be suffering greatly right now, snakes are cold blooded" Jiraiya said.

Orochimaru ignored him as everyone looked up to see Kaguya hovering menacingly above them. Her chakra was visibly swirling around her.

"Come on then Hagoromo, I'll dispose of you first and then I'll deal with your brother" Kaguya said addressing Sasuke and Naruto as she continued to glare at Hinata.

"Mother they aren't Hagoromo, they are his sons Indra and Ashura and why do you keep calling the Hyuuga girl Hamura?" Black Zetsu asked, but he was ignored as Kaguya continued to analyze Hinata.

She had eyes so similar to her own, and Kaguya couldn't stand it. The Byakugan was hers and it belonged to her alone. She shared her power with her sons once before and they betrayed her, so now she would just take it all back. The only person who will have power is her because she was the only one who could handle it. At least that's what Kaguya thought.

Sasuke and Naruto both saw that Kaguya's gaze was focused on Hinata. They didn't like that at all, and exploited the opening's that she was leaving.

Naruto created dozens upon dozens of clones and sent them charging at Kaguya to create a distraction.

Kaguya seemed to effortlessly dispose of clone after clone despite Naruto being in his heightened Six Paths Sage Mode, but that was fine. They were merely a diversion.

As Kaguya disposed of another clone the real Naruto came from the side with a Rasengan with no Senjutsu ready to be shoved into her side. Kaguya turned quickly and raised her arm to absorb the attack. This was the same arm that had Black Zetsu hiding inside of the sleeve, and Sasuke smirked at the knowledge as he pulled out Kusanagi and let black lightning coat the blade.

He waited until Naruto was mere centimeters away from making contact with Kaguya's arm before he swapped places with him.

Kaguya's eyes widened and Black Zetsu shrieked in surprise, but before either one of them could react, Sasuke had already severed Kaguya's forearm from her body along with Black Zetsu's body.

"Mother!" Black Zetsu yelled in anguish as his body was falling through the air towards the icy terrain.

Kaguya looked at Sasuke's face with unrestrained hatred causing Sasuke to smirk, but suddenly Sasuke's smirking face was replaced with Naruto's grinning one as they traded places once again. Naruto took advantage of Kaguya's late reaction to slam his Rasengan, now infused with Senjutsu, into her face full force causing the Rabbit Goddess to be sent flying into a wall of ice.

"Now while she's recovering!" Kakashi shouted at the long ranged attackers.

Itachi, Obito and Jiraiya all sent a powerful fire style attacks that was amplified by Orochimaru's wind style attack. Hinata's Lightning Air was mixed along with the giant fused flame that smashed into Kaguya full force and melted the mountain of ice behind her.

"Did you hit her?" Kabuto asked.

"We definitely hit her. Now we just wait and see if it had any affect" Hinata said.

While they were waiting, Kakashi noticed that Black Zetsu had landed close to the group. Black Zetsu noticed this as well and tried to sneak away unnoticed, but unluckily for him the copy ninja caught him while he was in mid escape.

"Well, well what do we have here?" Kakashi said causing everyone else to look in the direction that he was looking in.

When they saw Black Zetsu, some frowned while some smirked. Sasuke was among the smirking group.

"Looks like the weak little mastermind has been separated from his mother. I think its high time that we get rid of you, and as an Indra incarnate I think it should be me" Sasuke said as he pointed his lightning charged sword towards Black Zetsu.

"Wait, you should save your chakra. I'd be more than happy to dispose of this pest. He's been manipulating me for years as well" Obito said as he cracked his knuckles and walked past his younger cousin.

A sharp wooden sword appeared in Obito's hand as he advanced towards Black Zetsu, who had become panicked and desperate.

"Wait Obito you cant really want to kill me! I'm the reason that Madara saved you from that boulder all those years ago. You owe your life to me" Black Zetsu said.

Obito thought about it for a second before nodding.

"Maybe you're right, so I wont kill you.." Obito said as he turned his back on Zetsu and walked back towards the group, confusing most of them.

When he got next to Kakashi the two had a silent conversation for a moment before Kakashi nodded and let a Chidori spark to life on his hand.

"…At least not alone. Kakashi reserves the right as well, since you're also the reason why I wasn't able to get to the Mist shinobi in time to save Rin" Obito said with a sadistic smirk as Kakashi placed his hand on Obito's attack, allowing the electricity to flow through it.

Black Zetsu watched in fear as the two former members of Team Kakashi raised their hands simultaneously towards him with his chakra swirling.

It all happened so fast, that Black Zetsu had no way of evading the attack. He could do nothing but be consumed by the attack. In a matter of moments Black Zetsu was no more, reduced to a pile of ash that was blown away when a gust of chakra surged through the air.

"Well that's one annoyance dealt with, now there's just one more opponent left" Sasuke said as he turned towards the cause of the chakra surge.

Kaguya was floating in front of them and she seemed like that she took no damage from the onslaught of attacks that she had just received from everyone. However, she did have a bruise on her face where Naruto hit her with his Rasengan.

"I've had enough. I'll be taking back my chakra now" Kaguya said as she changed the location of the battle again.

Many of the Shinobi were forced to drop to their knees at the sheer gravity of the new area. Kaguya seemed to be struggling with the altered gravity as well but she still managed to raise her hand towards Sasuke and Naruto.

The two were helpless as they watched Kaguya fire the attack towards them. Kakashi and Obito, being able to withstand the gravity a little easier, were in the process of running to intercept the attack but they were beat to it by the Sensei's of the two teenagers.

"Jiraiya sensei! Move" Naruto screamed as he tried to stand up faster.

"Orochimaru what are you doing? Get out of the way" Sasuke said as he and Naruto made it too their knees.

"Its been fun Naruto but I definitely cant sit back and allow you to be killed by this. You're the child of prophecy and the one who will carry on my will form here on out" Jiraiya said looking back at Naruto with a smile.

"Aww Sasuke it almost sounded like you cared just now. I told you that I will follow your wind, and I cant just sit back and allow you to be ended here and now" Orochimaru said smirking at Sasuke.

"The old must die, so that the young can survive and evolve. Continue to live and accomplish you're goals. We'll be watching" Orochimaru and Jiraiya said simultaneously as they turned their heads away from their students to face their deaths head on.

Naruto and Sasuke could do nothing but watch as Kaguya's attack continued to head towards their sensei's. They couldn't believe that they were giving their lives to protect them.

Little did they know, they weren't the only ones that didn't want to see the two Sannin die.

Kakashi used what little chakra that he had remaining to activate his Mangekyou once again. He didn't have enough chakra to use Kamui twice, so felt as though he had to make a decision. Honestly, it wasn't that hard of a choice for Kakashi to make.

He focused on the attack headed for Jiraiya and used Kamui to send the attack away. Jiraiya's eyes widened when he noticed the attack that was heading towards him disappeared, but the one that was heading towards Orochimaru didn't.

' _ **No'**_ Jiraiya thought to himself. He and Orochimaru definitely had their disagreements throughout their lives and they spent a long time as enemies, but that didn't change the fact that the man was still his best friend and he didn't want to see him die.

He couldn't even say anything to the man as the attack soared towards him. He had been saved by a last second Kamui, but nothing could save his friend.

At least that's what he thought before a silver blur appeared in front of Orochimaru with only milliseconds to spare.

Everyone's eyes widened at the man that had saved Orochimaru and took the full force of Kaguya's rod attack.

"KABUTO"

XxXxXx

Back on the original battlefield the four Hokage's were conversing amongst themselves.

They were unable to follow the others and help them in the fight against Kaguya, so they were stuck twiddling their thumbs.

This was tough for all of them, but especially so for Hashirama; who had just found out that his best friend had been getting manipulated from the very beginning. Hashirama wished that he could've at least gotten the chance to fight against Black Zetsu to make him pay for what he did to not only Madara, but Indra as well.

It sounded like he really ended a very close relationship between two brothers and turned it into a bitter grudge that lasted throughout generations. Hashirama rarely hated anyone but he despised Black Zetsu's existence.

Seeing that his older brother's chakra was swirling irritably, Tobirama tried to come up with ways to be useful in this situation.

"Fourth Hokage can you feel their presence and teleport us there? I'm sure that you've marked at least your son" Tobirama asked.

Minato shook his head with a grim look on his face. He wanted to help as well, but there was just nothing that he could do.

"No I can't feel them. Its like they aren't even on the planet anymore. This is similar to what I felt from Obito and Kakashi's Kamui ability. They've likely been transported to an entirely different dimension. Not even I can teleport between dimensions" Minato said.

"That's unfortunate, but if that's the case then what are we supposed to do about this situation?" Hiruzen.

"Why don't we just bring them back?"

All four Hokage's turned around to see a ghost like figure floating behind them. The man had two Rinnegan and the same red dojutsu on his forehead that Kaguya and Madara had had, but his chakra felt completely different than anything that they had felt before. It felt ancient and pure.

Hashirama was sure that he had never met the man in his life, but he could feel an undeniable sense of familiarity coming from the man. Hashirama knew that that could only mean one thing.

"You're the Sage of the Six Paths" Hashirama said with an awe stricken expression.

The other Kages expressions weren't all that different from the first's. Hagoromo smirked at the men and barely held back a chuckle at their faces.

"That is indeed what people have called me, but my actual name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki. I've long since passed from this world, but I've come here in this astral form to inform you of the way to bring them back to this dimension once the fight is over" Hagoromo said.

"Wait before you tell us how to do that, I have a question for you" Hashirama said.

Hagoromo raised his eyebrow, but he wasn't exactly surprised. It was only natural that Hashirama would have questions after finding out that he was an incarnate of his son. Hagoromo sighed; Ashura was the one who always asked silly questions, and Hagoromo hoped that Hashirama didn't pick up that trait from his son.

"Speak your question, though I do hope you make it quick. There are a lot of preparations that must be made" Hagoromo said. Hashirama nodded in understanding.

"My question is why did you allow the rift to form between your sons? You were praised as the greatest and most legendary man in history. Are you telling me that you really didn't notice that Indra was being manipulated by Black Zetsu? Why didn't you stop Black Zetsu's corruption before Indra completely turned against you and Ashura?" Hashirama asked with a semi-accusing tone.

Hagoromo frowned at the implications behind Hashirama's question but he couldn't exactly blame the man for asking.

"To be honest, I wasn't aware of Black Zetsu's presence at all. I was foolish in thinking that my sons were beyond corruption, and I was even more foolish not to notice the change that was going on in my oldest son sooner than I did. I was too blinded by him being a prodigy and too busy trying to pick a successor for Nishu, that I didn't give my kids the attention that they deserved. Ashura and Indra were so close because they always were around each other growing up while I was busy. I may be called the 'Sage of the Six Paths' and all these great names, but I make mistakes just like any regular human would. The only difference is my mistake has come back to threaten the entire world, and I'm left trying to correct it now" Hagoromo said.

Hashirama took a minute to digest the information before he nodded ready to cooperate with the father of the man that he had been reincarnated from.

"Okay. What do you need us to do?" Hashirama asked with a determined expression on his face.

Hagoromo looked at the first four Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. They all had the same look on their faces and the same fire in their eyes.

' _ **Hmm the will of fire burns brightly in these four. I guess that's what it takes to be a Kage'**_ Hagoromo thought to himself as he began to explain his plan.

XxXxXx

Kabuto stood protectively in front of Orochimaru with Kaguya's rod sticking out from his belly button.

The medic had coughed up blood and was struggling to stay standing, but he still didn't waver in his conviction.

Having enough of the increased gravity of the dimension that she had teleported everyone in, Kaguya switched dimensions again to relieve the pressure from her body, but it also relieved the pressure from everyone else's body as well.

Orochimaru, Sasuke and Hinata all surrounded Kabuto's body, with the rest of the group on the standing protectively in front of them in case Kaguya tried something funny.

"You imbecile! You managed to ruin the one unselfish thing in my life that I decided to do of my own free will! What the hell possessed you to do something as foolish of jumping in front an attack like that?" Orochimaru demanded but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. Kabuto chuckled a little at his master's words.

"Lord O-Orochimaru, I r-remember telling you t-time after to time that I would gladly lay m-my life down for yours because o-of the fact that you saved m-me and g-gave me purpose. Why do y-you act as if my actions were unexpected?" Kabuto asked with a smile on his face.

Hinata noticed that his skin started to crack around his lower back area. She quickly placed her palms on his back and began trying to heal him, causing Kabuto to look at her.

"Hinata stop that . I-Ive been trying to h-heal myself since the attack hit me. I-Its useless. You're just wasting your chakra" Kabuto scolded as if he wasn't slowly eroding away in front of everyone.

"Shut up you idiot! You cant go from making everyone's lives hard during the war to sacrificing yourself like this. I haven't had the chance to forgive you yet, so stop acting like I'm just going to let you die" Hinata said as she activated her Byakugan to try to find the best spot to more effectively heal Kabuto, but her powerful Dojutsu revealed the truth to Hinata clear as day. Kabuto was dying, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"Forgiveness? E-Even now in my final m-moments your kindness continues to astound me. I'm f-fortunate that I was given the opportunity to meet someone like you in my l-lifetime, and even luckier to b-be able to call myself your s-sensei. Promise that y-you wont change Hinata" Kabuto gritted out.

He could no longer feel any part of his lower body. He knew that his time was coming to an end soon.

"I can't say that I didn't have this c-coming any w-way. There's a good chance t-hat even if I didn't die here that Sasuke w-would kill me w-when the war was o-over. Isn't that r-right Sasuke?" Kabuto asked looking at the man that hovered slightly behind Hinata with his hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

Sasuke scoffed at the question.

"That would be dumb of me. Hinata views you as important to her, so I wouldn't take that away from her. I would've learned to tolerate you, just like I do with the rest of the people that Hinata holds dear to her. It's unfortunate that you're dying now" Sasuke said while betraying no emotion.

He wasn't particularly close with the man in either of his lives. In fact, Sasuke viewed the man as little more than an annoyance, but this time around Sasuke felt a twinge of sympathy towards the man. He blamed it on Hinata's influence; she was making him a softer person.

"Is t-that so? Heh heh, first Hinata attacking m-me out of no where and n-now you're showing sympathy and c-compassion? You're future will surely be a-an interesting one, I-I'll be sure to watch you intently from the other s-side" Kabuto said as he closed his eyes for the last time.

Hinata, Orochimaru and Sasuke bowed their heads as they felt the last traces of life leave Kabuto's body.

Hinata had a tear rolling down her face as Kabuto's body continued to crack and whiter away until there was nothing left on the once proud medic nin. Orochimaru and Sasuke both had frowns on their faces as they looked at Kabuto's body continue to crack and wither away.

Little after this, Kaguya stood up straight after recovering from the shift between dimensions. She decided that she would end them all simultaneously.

She hated taking this form, but she really hated that this battle was taking more time and energy than was willing to give. She wanted to end it once and for all.

Everyone's attention turned to Kaguya who was surging more and more chakra as she floated into the sky. She ballooned in size and soon something resembling a rabbit tailed beast appeared in the sky, but it was bigger than any tailed beast that they've ever seen.

Sasuke frowned at the form and knew that Kaguya was getting desperate if she'd go to such lengths. He had the feeling that if they find a way to defeat this form then the battle would reach its conclusion.

' _ **It's time to settle this once and for all'**_

 **TBC**

 **It was pretty close until that last chapter but as you can see Kaguya appearing in the fic has won. I hope that she isn't as bland as she was in canon, but I honestly didn't really know how to write her. I just hope it's satisfactory.**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- Yeah Kaguya was voted in, and yeah I'm hoping that I can do that.**

 **Xhope14x- Right. From where Hagoromo gave him the Rinnegan to now is all new territory for Sasuke, so he's going to have to wing it with no prior knowledge. I have a feeling that he'll be just fine though.**

 **David (Guest)- Lo siento pero la manoría de la gente quería kaguya. Y gracias, espero que hayan disfrutado este también.**

 **DAngel7- Yeah I don't want to keep anyone waiting for too long if I can help it, and I agree with you. This war stuff is stressful lol. Fluff is much easier to write**

 **That one Kitsune- Its okay, you're not obligated to review any chapter but I appreciate whenever you do. Thank you for saying that's its your favorite Sasuke centric story because there are a lot on this site and other sites. That's high praise. I can do crossover with another anime as long as Ive seen it, but I'd need suggestions on which anime to crossover with.**

 **GamerArtist16- Thank you for reading the story!**

 **Splaaash- attack- thank you!**

 **Draco (Guest)- Seems like most people agreed with you. Hope I didn't disappoint.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I already talked to you about Madara though PMs so you know what my stance is there, but I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you enjoy this one as well.**

 **Alright everyone the war is in its final stages and it will all officially end next chapter. Sorry if killing off Kabuto hurt anyone, but honestly he would've died whether Kaguya came or If Madara was voted to be the final villain of the war arc. R.I.P. Don't be afraid to PM me for story ideas or anything like that because I'm open to everything right now. Please read and review- Dishon 3**


	43. The Battle Concludes

**Chapter 43**

Everyone looked at Kaguya's new form with a sense of awe, but they were determined to defeat her, and after Kabuto's emotional and unexpected death; some of the group were even more fired up then they were when the battle started.

Sasuke looked to Naruto and nodded, the two were about to take to the air to confront the beast head on, but Hinata placed her hand on Sasuke's shoulder before he could activate his Perfect Susanno.

Sasuke turned to Hinata with a questioning look on his face, but the intense look in Hinata's eyes informed him of what she wanted before she even spoke.

"Take me with you. I'll no longer stand here and watch you and Naruto fight all by yourself. I don't know what I can do to help but I refuse to be a bystander" Hinata said while activating her Byakugan once again.

Sasuke knew that it was dangerous to take Hinata any closer to Kaguya, especially since the woman had been calling her Hamura since the beginning of the battle, but Sasuke knew that this was another one of the many times that he couldn't deny Hinata of something she wanted. He trusted his strength enough to keep her safe during the battle and he trusted her strength enough to think that she could actually cause damage to Kaguya if given the opportunity.

Sasuke smirked and extended his hand towards her. Hinata looked surprised for a moment, as if expecting him to say no, before smiling and taking his outstretched hand.

As soon as Sasuke felt her warm hand in his, he pulled her closer and activated his Susanno. Sasuke and Hinata looked at Kaguya from the crest in the Susanno's head with twin looks of determination before flying up to confront Kaguya with Naruto trailing closely behind them ready to fight.

XxXxXx

Itachi looked at the three with a proud look on his face before he also activated his own Perfect Susanno catching the attention of everyone else who wasn't fighting.

Feeling everyones eyes on him, Itachi spoke up.

"Hinata has the right idea. We shouldn't just sit here and watch this fight when we are all capable shinobi. I for one know that I have a technique that should be capable of getting rid of that giant Rabbit monster floating in the sky. Lets all do our part and bring her down together" Itachi said.

Everyone looked at Itachi in confusion at the mention of this technique that could defeat the Rabbit monster, but they decided that it didn't matter and that they would also try to help in any way that they could to throw Kaguya off guard. If she was off guard then it would be easier for Naruto and Sasuke to seal her away.

When Itachi noticed that everyone else had the same intense look in their eyes that he was sure that he himself had; he took off into the sky after Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata.

Soon after this, Jiraiya and Orochimaru summoned Gamabunta and Manda onto the battlefield. Gamabunta could leap high enough for Jiraiya to strike the arms with a barrage of Massive Rasengans, and while Manda couldn't leap, his acid was strong enough to leave burn marks on the arms, and with Orochimaru's wind Jutsu amplifying it, the two worked as a great pair together.

Kakashi and Obito looked at each other with their Mangekyou's activated.

"Looks like now is as good a time as any to try out this technique" Obito said.

"Are you sure that its going to work?" Kakashi asked still skeptical about it.

"It should. We both have one Mangekyou Sharingan that belongs in a pair together. If we focus and try to use them at the same time, then it should work" Obito said.

Kakashi just nodded his head ready to try this technique out for the first time, While Sakura looked back and forth between the two of them with obvious confusion on her face.

"What are you guys planning on doing?" Sakura asked.

Instead of answering, Kakashi just looked at his former student and motioned for her to come closer to where he and Obito were standing.

Sakura was still clearly confused but walked over to Kakashi and Obito. When she was right in front of them, Obito and Kakashi begin to surge their chakra simultaneously.

At first nothing was happening, and Sakura was concerned that they were about to tire themselves out, but soon she felt herself being lifted off the ground as Obito and Kakashi managed to summon their own Perfect Susanno.

"What the.." Sakura started only to be cut of by Obito's smug voice.

"I told you that we could do it too"

Kakashi just smirked underneath the mask at the fact that they were no longer useless in this fight, and that he could help his former pupils.

"Glad that you were right for once in your life Obito. Now lets go do what we can to help. Together" Kakashi said.

With that the three flew into the battle as well.

XxXxXx

Kaguya was starting to be overwhelmed by the onslaught of attacks from Naruto, Sasuke and the others.

Naruto and Sasuke alone were tough enough to deal with by themselves because of Naruto's seemingly never ending chakra reserves and Sasuke's ultimate dojutsu mixed with his battle IQ, but with all of the others helping; Kaguya was starting to get worried.

Two more Perfect Susanno's were flying around her Rabbit Goddess form, occasionally hitting it with attacks, while the two that summoned the Toad and Snake were constantly attacking with their low level attacks that was starting to build up and actually cause damage. It wasn't a favorable situation to be in for Kaguya at all.

Seeing an opening in her defenses, Obito and Kakashi smirked simultaneously as their Susanno summoned ten shuriken and tossed them at the Tails on the Rabbit Tailed Beast.

Kaguya thought that they would be little more than scratches, but she was surprised to see that the arms would disappear as soon as the shuriken touched them.

"What did you do?" Sakura asked with awe in her voice.

"We combined the power of Kamui with the Shuriken. She never saw it coming" Obito said with a smug expression on his face.

"It was my idea" Kakashi said. Obito frowned but didn't disprove Kakashi's statement.

Itachi observed what happened with a gracious smile on his face. Kakashi and Obito's attack provided Itachi with the opportunity that he was waiting for the entire fight.

He flew up a little higher into the sky as he unsheathed the Totsuka Blade. He waited until the Kamui Shuriken finished teleporting all the arms away before he flew back down and stabbed the beast with his sword.

Kaguya was utterly helpless as her Rabbit Goddess form was absorbed into the gourd that Itachi's Susanno was holding. Her eyes widened at the sealing technique, and she knew that she'd have too avoid that sword at all costs.

However, Kaguya's focus on Itachi's sealing technique left her open to attack, and Hinata was determined to take advantage.

" **TWIN LION FIST LIGHTNING AIR PALM"** Hinata shouted as she sent a massive wave of Lightning Gentle Fist Chakra that Kaguya was in no position to absorb.

Kaguya was unable to move as she was hit by the attack. She looked at Hinata with a frown on her face.

"Hamura, how could you?" Kaguya asked as she tried to get her chakra network to respond.

Sasuke smirked at her struggle and knew that this was the best opportunity that they'd get to seal Kaguya away for good.

"Now Naruto, Let's go" Sasuke shouted as he jumped out the Susanno crest but leaving it active so that Hinata could stay safe.

"Right Sasuke, Lets do this" Naruto replied as he also flied towards Kaguya.

Kaguya was beginning to be able to feel her chakra again, but she still couldn't attack because of Hinata's attack disrupting her chakra network.

It took all of her effort to fly up slightly to avoid their outstretched hands, but as soon as she thought that she was safely out of reach, a fist slammed into the back of her head hard courtesy of Sakura.

Kaguya didn't even the acknowledge the Pink haired girl's presence on the battlefield and it came back to bite her in the worst of ways. The hit had enough power to stop her ascension and lowered her right back into the path of Naruto and Sasuke's outstretched hands.

Sasuke and Naruto both placed their palms on Kaguya's shoulder and the sealing process began.

Kaguya was rendered immobile and she knew that she had lost. The last thing that she did was look at Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata with angry tears in her eyes; the memory of her children's betrayal still haunting her, but in the back of her mind she still hoped that the ones that had the chakra of her kids inside of them would be ready for the upcoming battle against the rest of her people whenever they finally decided to invade the planet.

A few moments later Kaguya was completely sealed away and everyone was finally able to relax their chakra a little.

Naruto powered down from his Six Paths Sage mode with a giant smile on his face and Sasuke's right eye returned to its normal onyx color as the two exchanged a celebratory hi five with the rest of the group surrounding them with smiles and looks of relief on their faces. Kakashi was the first of the group to approach the two.

"You two really did it. As your first *cough* and most important *cough* sensei, it makes me very proud to see how far you both have come as Shinobi. You've both surpassed me long ago. Sasuke, you've taken the technique that I taught you and mastered it to a level that I couldn't even dream of, as well as made so many different variations of it; I'm proud that your signature technique is something that you learned from me. Naruto, you made it as far as you did by being yourself. I can't tell you how many times I saw you fail at something only for you to try again and again until you finally succeeded, while making friends throughout the whole experience. I cant wait to see you become Hokage" Kakashi said with a proud smile that showed through the mask.

Kakashi had to ignore the glares that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were giving him, along with Obito's snide comments about how he was the one that taught Kakashi the beliefs that he taught his students.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment and blinked before turning back to Kakashi with smiles on both of their faces. Though there was a noticeably bigger small on Naruto's face then Sasuke's.

"Thanks Kaka-sensei. Even though Sasuke probably won't ever admit it; You were the closest thing to a father that me and the Bastard had after we became Genin. I appreciate everything you did, even though Pervy Sage taught me more about chakra and fighting" Naruto said.

Kakashi felt wounded but happy at the same time so he decided to let Naruto slide with his comment about Jiraiya teaching him more than he did.

Sakura grabbed the two teens in a group hug that warmed Kakashi's heart, but the heart felt moment was interrupted by a loud whistling sound in the air. Everyone looked to see a body that was falling from the spot where Kaguya was sealed.

Sasuke quickly activated his Susanno and caught the body before it could hit the ground. When he felt the body in his hand gently laid it on the ground while the group all began to surround it to see who it was.

They were all shocked to see who the body belonged too and nobody could say anything but one name.

"MADARA!?"

XxXxXx

Back in the normal dimension, Hagoromo had somehow found a way to summon all of the previous Kage from every village from the afterlife in order to bring Sasuke, Naruto and the others back to the right dimension.

He had been following the battle with his senses and he had a smile on his face when he felt that his mother had finally been sealed away once again.

He knew that he was right to entrust his power to Sasuke and Naruto. It seemed that those two were destined to do great things, and they had a powerful group of friends that will support them every step of the way.

Hagoromo couldn't wait to finally have peace and go to the afterlife, so that he could watch the events unfold the way that he was meant to since he first died all those years ago. He also hoped to be able to meet his sons once again to be able to apologize for his mistakes that caused the rift to form in between them. He owed Ashura an apology for putting the responsibility of dealing with Indra on him, and he owed Indra plenty of apologies, but the biggest one was him not noticing the manipulation of Black Zetsu during his childhood.

If he had just been more aware of who was speaking to his son, then it was probable that everything would've went smoothly and that Indra would've inherited Ninshu just like he had originally planned.

Hagoromo could think about his mistakes for an eternity, but he had things to do first. When he finished teaching the Kage the dimensional summoning jutsu, he floated in the middle of the circle.

"Alright everyone, I sense that the battle is over and I have pinpointed their location. Begin infusing your chakra now" Hagoromo said.

All of the Kage all placed their hands on the seal and exerted their chakra to their limits, and within moments a large hole in space was opened and the small group of fighters dropped through the rift in the dimensions along with all Nine of the Tailed Beasts that had been freed when Kaguya and the Ten Tails were sealed.

"Welcome back everyone" Minato said with a bright smile.

The group all had relived looks on their faces when they realized that they were back in their dimension, but they still had a minor problem. Madara was with them, and he was still alive, but he was barely breathing and nobody knew what to do.

When Hashirama noticed that his best friend was still alive, he quickly hopped over to him to check on him.

"Hashirama is that you?" Madara wheezed out, as he looked at the man through squinted eyes, his Rinnegan more of a dim color as opposed to its normal vibrant purple color.

"Yeah Madara, stay with me. Are you really willing to die after all of the planning that you did to be resurrected?" Hashirama said as he sat down next to Madara's immobile form.

Madara coughed out a laugh at that. Leave it to Hashirama to take his resurrection completely out of context in order to try to give him a reason to keep living.

"We both know that I don't belong in this era. I should've never been brought back to life in the first place. This will serve as my final death" Madara replied.

He had foreseen a lot of different responses from Hashirama ranging from a serene smile to a quiet frown. What he had not been expecting was for Hashirama to slap him upside the head before ranting to him.

"You cannot be serious with this defeated attitude of yours. Why are you so eager to leave the new life that you've been gifted? Stop trying to die, and focus on this new opportunity for you" Hashirama growled out as he looked away from Madara with a frown on his face.

Madara felt his head throbbing from Hashirama's hit, and was slightly annoyed that Hashirama attacked him when he knew that he couldn't defend himself but he didn't focus on the pain. Instead, he focused on Hashirama's confusing words.

The confusion must've showed on his face because soon Hashirama sighed before turning to face him again.

"You do remember all the things we used to talk about during our childhood right? About how we wanted to create and live in a world where we don't have to fight each other and there will finally be peace so that children would no longer be killed in senseless conflict? Well I didn't get to during my lifetime, but you have the chance too now and you just want to give that up?" Hashirama asked with emotion heavy in his voice.

Madara couldn't believe what he was hearing from the other man, but Hashirama wasn't done talking yet.

"And you were the one that wanted to live alone in a world full of pain while others would be living in their idea of a perfect reality. If you were willing to live a life alone in solitude and grief, then why are you so against living a life full of people who cooperate with each other out of friendship instead of necessity? Don't be a hypocrite Madara, everyone deserves a chance to live and right their wrongs; even you" Hashirama said as if he was scolding a small child.

Madara was speechless for a moment, but the pain in his chest alerted him that if he stayed quiet for too much longer then he would die before he'd be able to respond to Hashirama. The only problem was that he didn't really know what he could say to him.

Hashirama had said a lot of things, and he was right about most of it. Madara did want to live to experience a shinobi world that lives in peace with one another, but as much as he wanted that, he just didn't believe that he deserved it. Not only that, but his life was fading by the minute. He doubted that he'd be able to live on, even if he wanted too.

"Hashirama… Thank you. You're right I do want to live, but the Ten Tails has been ripped from out of me, and I can feel my life slipping away from me. I'm destined to die here" Madara said while closing his eyes as a smile formed on his face as if he was accepting his incoming death.

He had to admit that the thought of living on was a nice one, but it was just a thought. At least that's what he thought until two more voices joined into the conversation.

"Open your damn eyes you fool. You're not allowed to die unless the idiot or I dispose of you ourselves; besides you still have a lot to answer for"

"Sasuke that was mean you Bastard, but He's right though Madara. We're not going to let you die after all that we've been through as incarnates, especially you Indra ones"

Madara's eyes opened slightly to see the smiling face of Naruto and the smirking face of Sasuke. They were both sitting next to Hashirama.

"What do you mean? I had a Tailed Beast extracted from me; there's no way to heal me now" Madara said.

Sasuke scoffed at Madara's words before he responded.

"If that were true then wouldn't Gaara and the idiot be dead right now?" Sasuke asked.

Madara opened his mouth to respond, but closed it when he realized that Sasuke was right.

He had personally removed the Nine Tails and One Tail from Naruto and Gaara, but both of them returned to the battlefield ready to fight after only a few minutes full of healing. Madara smiled as he thought about the two teenage boys that made him doubt his ambition. He would very much want to continue living by their side.

"Fine then, I concede. If you're sure that you'd prefer me alive then dead and if there's a way for me to continue living; I would like to live" Madara said.

Sasuke let out a smirk while Hashirama and Naruto beamed with happiness. Naruto quickly placed his palm on Madara's chest and pumped some Chakra into his chest.

Madara was surprised when breathing suddenly became a lot easier. He was still extremely hurt, but he was no longer on death's door. He looked at Naruto in surprise, while the teen just laughed.

"Don't look at me like that, I couldn't explain the healing power even if I tried, but its one of the powers that Super Sage Gramps gave me. I'm not able to heal people completely but I can stabilize people who have serious Injuries enough so that Medical nin can take care of the rest" Naruto said.

"And we just happen to have the best medic nin in the shinobi world available with us right now. I'm sure that one of them will be more than willing to heal you, after you promise me that you wont try this Infinite Tsukuyomi nonsense again and that you'll fight with us. If you turn on us then I will kill you… That's a promise" Sasuke said.

Madara looked at his descendant and fellow incarnate with a sincere look in his eyes before he nodded and spoke.

"You have my word Sasuke. We Uchiha have to stick together after all" Madara said he shifted his head so that he could look at Itachi and Obito who both glared at him in response, obviously still skeptical.

Satisfied with Madara's answer, Sasuke motioned for Sakura to come over so that she could heal Madara, but when Sakura started to walk over to them Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder. Sakura looked at her friend in confusion.

"Hinata what's wrong?" Sakura asked with concern etched on her face.

Hinata didn't respond for a moment as she stared at Madara's face. That was the face of the man who murdered both her father and her uncle not even an hour ago.

Hinata looked at Sakura with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry about it Sakura. I'll go instead" Hinata said.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked Hinata.

She knew that Neji and Hinata's father were killed by Madara, and she didn't want to see her friend suffer.

"Yeah I got it" Hinata said as she walked over to where Hashirama, Madara, Naruto and Sasuke were.

Sasuke watched her approach every step of the way and felt conflicted.

On one hand Hinata is the women he loved and Neji is his closest friend with the exception of Naruto and Madara did kill their fathers, but at the same time Madara was family and connected to him in ways that surpass blood ties.

Sasuke was ready to kill Madara to avenge Hiashi and Hizashi at one point but after hearing Black Zetsu's confession and Madara's apology; Sasuke didn't think that Madara deserved to die because he was being manipulated much like he had been at one point in time.

If Sasuke condemned Madara for his actions because of Black Zetsu's manipulation, then that means that he also deserves to be condemned for his actions during his first life because of Itachi and the Hidden Leaf's manipulation.

When Hinata got closer, Sasuke grabbed her hand causing her to stop her advancement towards Madara.

"You don't have to be the one to do this if you're not okay with it. I don't want to force you to accept my decision" Sasuke said.

Hinata stayed still for a moment before she squeezed his hand and smiled at him. It was a genuine one that reached her eyes.

"Sasuke thank you for worrying about me, but I want to be the one to heal Madara. If you want him to live and if he wants to be able to be apart of our family then I have to be able to do this" Hinata said.

"Hinata…"

"He was being manipulated for decades by the same person that manipulated the man that both of you were reincarnated from. He may have killed my father and uncle, but in he already said that they sacrificed their lives to ensure that Neji and I will live in the Perfect Reality of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. In his eyes he was probably doing them a favor, and both my father and uncle willingly died. I won't hold a grudge against him for that" Hinata said with tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

Madara saw the tears that were threatening to fall from the Hyuuga woman's eyes and instantly felt regret for his actions once again. He knew that nothing that he could say would ever make up for what he did her, but he hoped that he could take a step in the right direction. Madara cleared his throat to get Hinata's attention. When she turned to look at him, he looked her dead in eyes before he spoke.

"Hinata, I know that it doesn't mean much, but I deeply regret my actions, so I owe you an apology. I'm sorry"

Hinata looked at Madara as the tears dried up. If Madara was anything like Sasuke then Hinata knew that apologizing wasn't easy for him, and even though he was right about the apology not meaning much in the grand scheme of things, it did help her resolve to heal him, and maybe she'll actually have a positive relationship with the man one day.

If Sasuke could forgive his brother for massacring their whole clan, then Hinata could try to forgive the misguided man who killed her father and uncle.

"Thank you for your apology" Hinata said as she released Sasuke's hand and set down next to him so that she could properly heal Madara.

Hagoromo looked at the scene with a serene smile on his face. He was happy that the incarnates of his sons were finally at peace with one another and he was even happier that Madara would get the chance to live the life that he dreamed of with Hashirama since they were children.

Hagoromo dismissed the other Kage back to the afterlife and only let the 4 Kage from the Hidden Leaf to remain so that they could say there goodbyes, but he hadn't been expecting the events that transpired. Especially Hinata healing Madara.

Hamrua's descendant was also surprisingly mature for her age and Hagoromo was more than grateful for her. She was a big reason why Sasuke's heart lost a lot of the darkness that it had during his first life.

Hagoromo knew that she was one of the main reasons why Sasuke didn't end up going down the same path that he did the first time around. Hagoromo doubted that Naruto alone would've been enough to completely change Sasuke, the way that Hinata did.

While he was watching them, he felt the eyes of the Bijuu on him. He knew that they wanted his opinion on what they should do now that they've been freed. They didn't know if they would be allowed to roam free or if they'd have to be resealed into people.

Hagoromo wanted to let them decide that amongst themselves, but he addressed the most powerful of the Bijuu first with a request.

"You guys are free to do whatever you want, and Naruto will serve as a place where you can meet up whenever you feel the need too. Kurama, I'd like you to join your other half inside of Naruto so that you can regulate those meetings" Hagoromo said.

All of the Bijuu had satisfied expressions on their faces. Surprisingly, Shukaku wanted to remain sealed inside of Gaara, and Kurama grunted his agreement to rejoin his other half inside of Naruto with an annoyed expression, but Hagoromo could see the content look in his eyes.

He could that Kurama would be happy to keep Naruto as his Jinchuuriki. The two had formed a strong bond, and for that, Hagoromo was grateful.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru walked up to him with looks of awe on their faces. They never thought that they'd ever see the legendary Sage of Six Paths, but it wasn't the time for gawking. They had a question.

"Do you know how to undo this Jutsu so that our friends and the rest of the Shinobi can be freed from this tree?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes simply have Naruto and Sasuke do the Rat hand sign simultaneously, or Madara could do it since it seems that he's going to be allowed to live and be reformed" Hagoromo said.

"Is that all? I should've known" Orochimaru said while laughing at the simplicity of it before walking off with Jiraiya in tow.

With everything taken care of, Hagoromo reflected on his life with a smile on his face. He had made his fair share of mistakes but in the end, everything still found a way to wok themselves out. With his intervention of course, but still.

"I can now pass on in peace" Hagoromo said as he slowly began to become more translucent.

Sasuke noticed this from the corner of his eye and looked at the man that sent him back in time to this amazing life that he's living now. Sasuke didn't have any words to express how grateful he was to the man. This life was much better than his last life could've ever been, and he only got the chance to live it because of Hagoromo. When Hagoromo had nearly faded from this plane of existence, Sasuke could only think of a few words to say to him.

"Thanks… for giving me the chance to try again"

The last thing that Sasuke saw before Hagoromo faded away completely was the proud smile on his face.

XxXxXx

With the Sage of Six Paths gone, the four Kage that had been reincarnated had also began to glow signifying that it was their time to go as well.

Everyone shared heartfelt goodbyes with the Kage of their choice.

Minato was surrounded by Naruto, Kakashi, Obito and Jiraiya. Minato had a bright smile on his face as he said his goodbyes to his son, students and sensei. He went back to the afterlife with the promise to tell Kushina, and Rin that they all said hi.

Hiruzen was talking with Orochimaru, and Sakura. They made peace over the fact that Orochimaru had killed him, and Orochimaru apologized for being a problem child. Sakura was there because Hiruzen was the Hokage of her childhood and it was sad to see him die again.

Tobirama had no one to talk to, so he just stood behind Hashirama with his arms crossed, while Hashirama talked with the now fully healed Madara.

"Remember Madara this life is a gift, so don't waste it. You and I both know that if you try some world domination stuff again then someone will revive me to defeat you" Hashirama said with a smirk.

Madara scoffed at that.

"As if they'd go through the trouble of doing that when they have Naruto and Sasuke. Individually I might be able to take them on, but when they fight together, even I find myself outmatched" Madara admitted.

Hashirama was inclined to agree with him on that. They were both already stronger than he and Madara had been in their primes and they were only 17 years old. He could only imagine how powerful they'd be by the time one of them becomes Hokage.

"You're right about that. Well live proudly for the both of us my friend. Maybe this time around you'll actually have some kids eh?" Hashirama teased causing Madara's ears to turn red and Hashirama to start laughing.

"Just go to the damn afterlife already Hashirama, I'm tired of looking at your ugly face" Madara said in annoyance.

Hashirama's demeanor instantly changed as he pouted and a dark cloud suddenly appeared above his head.

"Am I really that ugly?" He asked with a solemn voice.

Madara laughed and soon after Hashirama joined in as well, before his soul left the vessel that he was in.

Madara and Hashirama exchanged one last smile before the latter faded away and returned to the afterlife.

With all the goodbyes said and done, Orochimaru informed Naruto and Sasuke on how to undo the Jutsu, but before they could do it, Madara stopped them.

"Let me do it. It's the least I can do for all the trouble that I've caused. Besides view this as a show of good faith. The first step towards earning your trust" Madara said as he performed the Rat hand sign and released the Jutsu that he cast.

And with that the Fourth Shinobi World War had officially ended.

 **TBC**

 **Thank you for your patience but I had to wait. I wanted this chapter to be finished and posited on a special day and thats today. Its my birthday and I'm now 20 years old! No more being a teenager for me lol. Thank you in advance for any birthday wishes you guys review or send, now on to the reviews!**

 **Nevvy- thank you so much! That's really high praise considering that the canon was so great with the exception of the Kaguya fight**

 **Shinobi Saiyan- thank you! I hope that you enjoyed the battle and yeah RIP Kabuto but I just couldn't have him working in an orphanage.**

 **Robertastarcris11- Sorry for the wait, I hope that you enjoyed this one as well.**

 **Saki-Hime- thank you! Thanks for the review.**

 **UchihaYumiko-chan- thank you so much! Thank you for reading my fic.**

 **(Guest)- Thank you sir. I hope I continue to meet your expectations**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Hinata was active this chapter so I hope that you enjoyed it**

 **Dominiknoxi- thank you. I'm glad that you think that I'm still improving with my writing and story telling. I'll have to rewatch Fairy Tail or actually start High School DxD in order to make that happen, but Sasuke will definitely be the Main Character of any Naruto fic that I write. And Ive read 'Fate Doesn't Make Mistakes' till its most recent update and that's really high praise. Thank you so much**

 **Xhope14x-Its kinda like how it ended in the original but with my own little twist to it**

 **That one Kitsune- thank you and I've watched fairy tail but its been awhile and I've never seen High School DxD but I'll check it out**

 **Splaaash-Attack- Thank you. I'm glad that you enjoyed it**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- thank you and thats a good comparison that I didn't even think off until i read your review, but I hope that the conclusion was good and fun to read.**

 **Thank you to everyone who continues to support the story. Please give me your feedback and tell me what you think about the conclusion on the war. Please Read and Review- Dishon 3**


	44. Rival's Proposal

**Chapter 44**

A few months later, Sasuke and Hinata were walking side by side on their way back to the newly rebuilt Uchiha District.

They both had serene expressions on their faces despite the fact that the months following the conclusion of the war had been nothing short of hectic.

 **Flashback**

When everyone was released from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, they were all instantly on guard because of the fact that they noticed Madara was still very much alive.

Sasuke and Naruto tried to explain to the other shinobi the events that had led to Madara being spared and that the war wasn't entirely his fault, but not everyone was willing to listen and accept the fact that the two had left him alive.

While most shinobi were scared motionless, they're were a select few that had the guts to attack Madara, but they were intercepted by either Sasuke, Naruto, Itachi, Obito or Hinata before they could get near him. This angered the Raikage.

"This is foolishness. That man is responsible for the destruction of my Village. I don't care what the circumstances are that led to him doing so, he must pay for his sins and it will be by my hands" A said as his lightning aura came to life around him.

Sasuke noticed this and looked at him with his Sharingan activated.

"Stand down Raikage. It'd be a shame if I'd have to kill you so soon after Madara freed you from the Infinite Tsukuyomi" Sasuke said with his threatening aura suffocating most of the shinobi in the area.

"You dare threaten a Kage!? That's a declaration of War!" A shouted outraged and the Cloud shinobi all tensed in preparation for battle in case their Kage ordered them to attack.

Everyone else saw this as well and most of the Leaf Shinobi prepared for battle as well, but Kakashi lazily spoke up to break the tension before anyone attacked.

"While its true that normally Sasuke's words would be a declaration of war, I think that you should look around for a moment and really see what you're suggesting here Raikage. Sasuke by himself would be more than enough to defeat you and the rest of the remaining Cloud shinobi with ease, but even if you can somehow defeat him, which I highly doubt, we still have Naruto, Itachi, Obito, myself and oh MADARA UCHIHA… Is this really a wise decision?" Kakashi asked.

Hearing this, the Raikage's aura fizzled out immediately. Even he wasn't foolish enough to attack with the odds so overwhelmingly stacked against him.

"Fine then, but that monster shouldn't be permitted to live without facing some type of consequences for his actions" A said.

"The Raikage does have a point. Even if he was manipulated by someone else that hardly matters at this point. He is still single handedly responsible for the death of the Tsuchikage, many good shinobi and even innocent people" Tsunade said.

Sasuke and Naruto opened their mouths to object, but Madara beat them too it.

"I'll gladly take any punishment that you can dish out if you'll allow me to regain citizenship within the Leaf Village afterwords" Madara said.

Tsunade thought over this for a moment. Having Madara as a Leaf Shinobi will be almost unfair and no one would ever challenge the Leaf with the combined might of Sasuke, Naruto and Madara, so that was a bonus, but he would be nothing short of feared in the Village and she doubted that the Village would easily accept his presence.

Eventually she decided that the pros outweighed the cons, and sighed before declaring her final verdict.

"I will allow you to become a citizen in the Leaf Village Shinobi again Madara, but only if you agree to three months in a Konoha prison with a seal placed on your eyes and chakra cuffs. You will also have to agree to keep your Rinnegan deactivated at all times within the walls of Konoha. Are these terms acceptable?" Tsunade asked.

Madara was quiet for a moment before he nodded.

"The first half of your requests will be no problem, but I cannot deactivate my Rinnegan. It's an eternal dojutsu, but if you don't believe me then you can ask Sasuke" Madara said.

Everyone turned their eyes towards Sasuke, who rolled his eyes at the attention, before he nodded his head in confirmation.

"He's right. I've been trying to deactivate mine since you all have been freed but it wont deactivate" Sasuke said.

"How do we know that he's telling the truth!?" A random cloud nin shouted.

"You imbecile, look at his other eye. It's obviously black, our natural eye color, and Uchiha's canont activate one eye at a time" Itachi snapped at the shinobi that dared to question his little brother.

Hearing this, Tsunade nodded her head in understanding and acceptance.

"Fine, Madara will be contained and after he does his time he will be allowed to live in the Leaf as a Shinobi" Tsunade said ignoring the complaints from shinobi all over the battlefield.

 **End Flashback**

There was a memorial held for all of the shinobi that fell in the war in the Sand Village at Gaara's suggestion, since it was the closest Village to the battlefield.

A lot of tears were shed especially by the Stone Village, who lost their Kage, and their was a big celebration to celebrate the end of the war and forming of the Allied Shinobi Nation.

After they got back to the Village, Tsunade stepped down as Hokage and appointed Kakashi as the Sixth Hokage.

Sasuke still laughs to himself when he remembers the face that his sensei made when she announced it to the Village.

Sasuke truly believed that if it wasn't for the combined efforts of Hanare and Obito, then Kakashi would've been overwhelmed by the workload that being the Hokage came with; but even with all the work he had to do, he still found a way to propose to Hanare and the two got married a week ago.

Obito was upset at first since being Hokage was originally his dream, but Kakashi quickly appointed him as his advisor and the Copy Nin was more than happy to let Obito sit in the chair and do all of the work for him, so that he could spend more time with Hanare, who was nearing the end of her pregnancy.

Gai and Zabuza were both still in the hospital, but only one of them still needed to be.

Thanks to Naruto and Sakura, Zabuza's spine was mostly recovered and the doctor said that he was likely to walk again and it was possible for him to resume his shinobi life, but Gai was another story.

Even though Naruto managed to save him from dying, his leg was shattered beyond repair and the doctor told him that his career as a shinobi was over.

The news saddened many of the people close to Gai, but Gai kept a steady smile on his face and challenged Zabuza to see who would get out of their wheelchairs first.

Itachi and Hana got married immediately after the War ended much to the annoyance of Sasuke and Kiba, who didn't like the idea of being brothers in law, but they didn't have a big ceremony despite Itachi's status. They lived in a the Main House in the Uchiha District and Itachi was officially recognized as the Clan Head of the Uchiha by the Village, much to the relief and annoyance of Sasuke.

Even though he wanted to be the Patriarch of the Uchiha, he was glad that he didn't have to deal with all the political aspects that came with being a Clan Head, and Sasuke knew that it was Itachi's birthright anyway so he wasn't too mad with this development.

Speaking of Clan Heads, Neji had been sworn in as the sole Hyuuga Clan Head since he was the only one of age, much to the concern of some of the Hyuuga Elders, but Hinata and Hanabi supported him fully. With their support, the overwhelming support from the former branch family, and Sasuke's death glares; the Hyuuga Elders accepted Neji's lead with open arms.

Naruto and Haku lived together in a separate house in the Uchiha District, much to Zabuza's annoyance, but he wasn't in the condition to do anything about it, and he figured that he owed Naruto a debt anyway for saving him so he didn't complain to much when Haku first told him. However, he did threaten to castrate Naruto if he ever hurt her.

Ever since Kakashi became Hokage, Naruto has been begging him to name him as the next Hokage, but Kakashi told him that he wouldn't just hand it over to him, and that he would have to earn it, even though everyone knew that Naruto had done more than enough to earn it.

Kakashi even toyed around with the idea to make Sasuke the next Hokage, and that motivated Naruto more than ever to focus. He didn't want to lose the position that he dreamed about having to his best friend like Obito did.

Naruto has been studying Village history ever since that day, with Haku by his side keeping him focused in case he got distracted.

Madara also lived alone in a house inside of the Uchiha District. When he was first released from prison, Tsunade thought about having Anbu survey him 24/7 to make sure that he didn't do anything suspicious, but ultimately she decided against it because she didn't want to have the rest of the Uchiha Clan thinking that she was spying on them or something.

The last thing that Tsunade wanted was the Uchiha to be against the Village again, especially since the last four Uchiha that were alive were all stronger than all of the shinobi that she had in her village with the exception of Naruto, and that was assuming that Naruto even sided with the Village. Even if Naruto did fight on Konoha's side, between Madara and Sasuke… She didn't welcome the scenario.

Sasuke and Hinata finally made it to Itachi's house. They were all having a big dinner to celebrate Madara's release from prison, and Itachi's house was the biggest so it was agreed that they would meet there.

When they opened the door they saw many things that surprised them.

Lee and Kiba had already consumed half of the alcohol and were both arguing about something stupid, Kakashi had beat them there and he was glaring at Obito, who was trying to remove his mask, and Madara was in the corner talking to Anko, and it seemed like the two were having a very serious conversation.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the scene, curious as to what Madara was talking to Anko about but Itachi's voice snapped him out of his musings.

"Ahh so you finally decided to grace us with your presence little brother. I wonder what you and Hinata were doing to make you guys so late for the party" Itachi teased as he poked Sasuke's head and smirked at Hinata, making the young woman look away and blush.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but smirked at his big brother as he held up five bags of food all containing things that Hinata had made before they left the their House, Hinata shyly held up the other two that she had.

"Hinata was making food, and she didn't want to leave until she was sure that she had made enough for everybody. We had to go to the market to get enough bags to carry it all" Sasuke explained as Itachi's face brightened at the.

He loved Hana and her cooking wasn't bad at all, but he had to admit that it was nothing compared to Hinata's cooking. The smell alone was enough to make his mouth water, but he fought the urge to do so since he was a Clan Head and he didn't want to give Sasuke the satisfaction of seeing him drool.

"I'm grateful that she cooked. Hana prepared more than enough food, but I have a feeling that everyone will be happy to see that Hinata has cooked as well. Come lets eat" Itachi said as he led Sasuke and Hinata towards the large dinner table that already had all the food that

Itachi didn't have to tell anyone that it was time to eat because once Hana saw that he had made his way to the table, she made the announcement for him.

"HEY! Everyone take a seat at the table so that we can eat. I don't care where" Hana yelled as she sat down to Itachi's left with Sasuke at his right.

Nobody, not even Madara, questioned the woman as they quickly made their way to their seats. Even Lee and Kiba looked like they instantly sobered up when Hana gave them a warning growl.

The dinner went smoothly with some quiet conversations being exchanged but when they noticed that the conversation was beginning to die down, but Naruto and Sasuke stood up and banged a spoon against their glass simultaneously gaining everyone's attention.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other at the coincidence, but they but knew what the other was going to say because they had told each other days before. It was just that the timing was annoying.

"Are you serious you Bastard? You were talking about now? Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto hissed at Sasuke who scoffed at the question.

"It was obvious, its not my fault that your undeveloped mind wasn't able to put the clues together, but what about you? You told me that you wouldn't do it till you thought it was the 'perfect moment' and that you didn't know when they would be" Sasuke said.

"Yeah well I've decided that this is the 'perfect moment', and you're ruining it, so sit back down and let me do this" Naruto said with his chakra starting to flare in agitation.

"You're dumber than I thought you were if you think that I'm going to pass on this. I've been planning this moment for weeks. Why don't you sit back down and wait for another 'Perfect Moment' to do it" Sasuke said with his chakra rising to match Naruto's.

Sensing that his former students were getting closer to a fight then they were to explaining the reasons why they got everyone's attention; Kakashi decided that it was best if he intervened before it turned into a battle that could potentially level the Village.

"Naruto and Sasuke both of you are behaving poorly at this dinner meant to celebrate Madara's release from prison. As your Kage, I expect you to stop this foolishness and explain right now what you two wanted to say" Kakashi said.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and frowned before turning their heads away from each other, but soon after this both of their faces went from annoyed to nervous.

Simultaneously they both kneeled down in front of Hinata and Haku and pulled a little box out of their pockets.

Both of the Woman's eyes widened at their boyfriends as they opened the boxes, revealing two beautiful rings.

Sasuke and Naruto briefly made eye contact for a moment, seemingly have a silent conversation before Sasuke nodded his head in approval. Naruto smiled and spoke first.

"Haku when I first saw you, I thought that you were the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen in my life, and I still think that way, but it was more than your beauty that attracted me too you. You're fiercely loyal and you always pushing me to be the best that I can be. You put up with my less than favorable manners, and my loudness doesn't annoy you. You even come with me to eat Ramen at least once a day, even though we both know that its not the healthiest food around. You're a powerful woman with amazing aim and you managed to pierce my heart with one of your senbon and its stuck there forever. I love you…" Naruto said before trialing off.

Sasuke understood the signal and spoke up instantly.

"Hinata, its no secret that I'm not the best at expressing my emotions, but every time I look at you, I'm reminded how much you've changed me and how much I love you. I was a completely different person when we first met, but you've managed to chip away at my emotionless persona until you became the single most important thing in my life. More important than even my revenge, which manage to consume me at one point in my life. Every one here knows. How kind you are, but on top of that you're stern when I need you to be. You didn't let me make any stupid decisions, but you stuck by my side through all of my adventures. You went with me to the Sound Village to train under Orochimaru even though everyone else told you not too, you forgave Madara even though he was responsible for the death of your father and uncle and you still chose to love me even after finding out my deepest, darkest secret. You're the best thing that has happened to me and I want you to be by my side forever. Even though we're already betrothed, I want to make it official, and I don't want to wait any longer so I have to ask…" Sasuke said as stared deep into Hinata's eyes.

Then as if they practiced this before hand, Naruto and Sasuke both asked the same question at the same time.

"Will you marry me?"

The room was silent and all eyes were on Hinata and Haku eagerly awaiting their answers. Most of the males in the room had smirks on their faces while all of the females had tears in the corner of their eyes threatening to fall.

Hinata had full blown tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at the ring that Sasuke was holding in front of her, and Haku wasn't much better off as she watched Naruto fidget in anticipation.

Both woman had a smile on their faces they both said the one word that everyone in the room was waiting to hear from them.

"Yes"

As soon as the word left their lips, Naruto grinned brightly and shoved the ring on Haku's finger before he tackled her in a bone shattering hug that broke the chair that she was sitting in, but she didn't seem to mind as she hugged Naruto back just as tightly with tears staining his shirt.

Sasuke behaved in a more dignified manner than his best friend as he gently placed the ring on Hinata's finger before he kissed her softly and smiled a real smile. Hinata looked at Sasuke's eyes as they communicated his love for her more than his words ever could.

Everyone was clapping and giving celebratory claps as the two couples embraced. Those who knew Sasuke and Naruto well couldn't help but laugh at the fact that they managed to almost ruin their marriage proposals by fighting, only to end up working together to create one of the most beautiful double proposals that any of them had ever seen.

"Well that was something" Obito said once he finished chuckling.

"Indeed, that was an interesting proposal. I'm happy that I was around to see it" Madara agreed.

"Oh man two of my three students are getting married, I'm starting to feel old" Kakashi said with a slight whine in his voice causing Hanare to chuckle and slap him playfully.

"Actually Kakashi-sensei you're wrong about that" Sakura said cryptically as she took a sip of her drink.

"How is he wrong? Sorry Sakura, but Neji-Baka isn't going to be proposing to you anytime soon with all of the Clan matters that he has to take care off" Naruto said obviously teasing.

"Even if he wasn't running the Clan, Hyuuga isn't very likely to make a grand proposal like this. Even if he does, it would be overshadowed by ours at this point, he should've proposed first. He was just too slow" Sasuke said smirking at Neji who looked at Sasuke before he slowly returned the smirk causing Sasuke's smirk to fade.

"You're half right Uchiha. I'm not the type to make grand proposals like what you and Naruto just did, but if you think I'd let you two idiots man up and propose before I did then you're a bigger fool than Naruto" Neji replied

"You mean…" Hinata started excitedly as she and the rest of the people in attendance looked at Sakura who was holding up her hand, revealing a ring that had previously gone unnoticed.

"We're getting married too!" Sakura said as the females all shrieked and congratulated Sakura as well.

Neji looked smug as Naruto and Sasuke glared at him.

"When?" Naruto asked.

"This morning before we left the Hyuuga Compound" Neji responded.

"Where?" Sasuke asked.

"In the gardens in front of the Sakura tree. Fitting don't you think?" Neji asked with a smirk.

Sasuke and Naruto both had to admit that it was a good idea and cursed Neji's genius, but while they were glaring at the smug Hyuuga, the woman were all planning.

"I think we should all get married together" Haku said.

"That makes sense because Neji, Naruto and Sasuke are all best friends" Sakura said agreeing with them.

"Not only that, but the Hyuuga Clan will likely want me and Neji to have big weddings, so it would be much more logical if our ceremonies were at the same time, and they love Naruto so they'd be more than happy to plan for his wedding as well" Hinata said.

"The Uchiha Clan will also provide a fair amount of money towards this as well. Sasuke is my little brother and Naruto is close to the family as well, so I'd be more than happy to pay whatever fee that is necessary to make that wedding grand and memorable. It will be talked about for generations to come" Itachi declared.

Neji, Sasuke and Naruto didn't really like the idea of having a joint wedding, but all of them knew better than too get involved in wedding plans. They remembered the stress that both Itachi and Kakashi went through with Hana and Hanare.

Needless to say, they didn't even want to risk angering their women while they were planning for their wedding.

"Fine Neji, you may have been first to propose, but I bet that Haku and I will be the first to have children" Naruto said.

"Once again you're being an idiot, It will be me again that is first" Neji said.

"Both of you are fools, Uchiha genes are superior so naturally it would be me who has a child first" Sasuke said as he rolled his eyes.

Neji and Naruto looked at each other for a moment before they turned and looked at Sasuke.

"Aren't you still a Virgin?" They asked simultaneously causing Sasuke to stiffen.

Normally nobody would've noticed the change is Sasuke's demeanor, but Neji and Naruto were his best friends so they noticed it instantly and knew that Sasuke was in fact still a Virgin.

They both began to laugh at their discovery, much to annoyance of Sasuke who crossed his arms as he glared at the two.

"I don't get what's so funny to you two dumbasses" Sasuke growled.

"Haha what's funny is haha the fact that you think hahaha that you'll be the one haha to have kids first when you and Hinata haven't even had sex HAHAH" Naruto said in between laughs.

"You sound prideful as usually but this time you don't have any substance to back up your claims" Neji said as he laughed along side Naruto.

Sasuke glared at the two as they continued to laugh at him, he could feel his patience slipping as his Sharingan activated out of impulse.

"You two better stop laughing at me right now or else" Sasuke said, but he was ignored as the two continued to laugh at him, not caring an ounce about the warning.

A vein protruded in Sasuke's forehead as he heard more and more laughter until he finally snapped and attacked Naruto and Neji, and even though Sasuke knew that they're would be consequences later, Sasuke thought that it would be worth it if he managed to give them both a black eye.

The resulting brawl ended the party and lasted for the rest of the day.

XxXxXx

The next day, Sasuke, Neji and Naruto were in the hospital recovering from their wounds.

They did a number on each other, but that wasn't the reason that they were currently in the hospital.

They were in the hospital thanks to the combined might of senbon needles, Chakra infused punches to the head, and Gentle fists infused with lightning chakra courtesy of Haku, Sakura and Hinata, and the worst part is that the woman were refusing to heal them as they planned their weddings, forcing them to heal naturally.

The three would be in the hospital for at least a week thanks to their injuries.

"I just want you to know that none of this would've happened if you two so called 'geniuses' just respected me as your future Hokage" Naruto said.

Neji and Sasuke looked at each other and shook their heads before they shook their heads in disbelief.

"Naruto… Shut up" they said simultaneously as the pain medication took over and put the three soon to be grooms to sleep.

XxXxXx

Elsewhere, a person was traveling quickly towards the Hidden Leaf Village. He wasn't from this planet, but that wasn't important.

He was on a mission and he was determined to complete it regardless of what he had to do to achieve it and he was resolved to kill whoever was willing to get in his way.

His goal was to destroy the world and stop the people who use chakra for evil, and in order to achieve this goal he would need a Hyuuga with a pure Byakugan and he already had one in mind.

"I will unlock the Tenseigan by any means and bring an end to this corrupt world" the man said as he continued his journey with unwavering resolve.

 **TBC**

 **I know, I know, its been over a month since Ive updated and I'm very sorry about that, but I had finals to study for. I just hope that this chapter was good enough to cover for the lack of my updates (probably not right lmao) but I have something that I hope that you'll see as good news. There's only a few more chapters left of 'Trying Again' but I already have a an idea for another story and if you want I can post the first chapter to that the next time I update 'Trying Again' or possibly even sooner. Please fill free to give me ideas on a story to write. I already have one in mind but I'd love to hear your ideas and I might use it for a whole nother story, but anyway on to the reviews.**

 **Dominiknoxi- its okay if you don't review lol, but yeah I had to mention the Hamura/Hinata connection for what happens next, and yeah its near the end** **but thank you for the support**

 **GamerArtist16- I hope this chapter answered your questions and I don't think I'm that good to be famous lol but thank you for thinking so. And of course not! Thank you for the birthday wish. I really appreciate it**

 **MarethyuQ- Thanks for the review and I hope that this chapter answers your questions.**

 **Xhope14x- It sure has been. Thank you for reading the story**

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 **Thank you for everyone who continues to read and review! I'm grateful for all of you and I'll see you next time – Dishon 3**


	45. The Last (Part 1)

**Chapter 45**

Hanabi and a few of her personal Hyuuga guards were traveling back to the Leaf Village from the Land of Tea.

After hearing about the triple engagement of Hinata and Sasuke, Sakura and Neji and Haku and Naruto; Hanabi wanted to make sure that she did everything in her power to make their weddings perfect. The land of Tea was renowned around the shinobi world for having the best fabrics and Hanabi couldn't think of a better place to order Hinata, Sakura and Haku's wedding dress.

She also made sure to have each dress personalized to suit each woman, with Hanabi adding her own personal touches to the dresses as well.

Being a Hyuuga Princess, Hanabi had money in abundance and she put it to work when she was customizing the wedding dresses.

She got Haku a light blue Kimono that symbolized her Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Hanabi also had the Uzumaki Clan symbol that she had seen Naruto wearing sewn into the back of the Dress large enough to be seen. She secretly also had a Ramen symbol sewn somewhere on the Kimono as well, but it wasn't visible and Hanabi only did it for her own amusement.

She got Sakura a Pink Kimono with a cherry blossom floral pattern, for obvious reasons, with the Hyuuga Crest displayed proudly on the back of the Kimono with the symbol of the slug also present, but not too large because Hanabi was disgusted by slugs, but large enough so that Sakura would know it was there. Due to her summoning contract with slugs, Hanabi was sure that Sakura would love it.

Hinata was the easiest, and hardest to make a kimono for at the same time. Hanabi knew her sister the best out of the three woman who were getting married, but the fact that she was her sister meant that Hanabi wanted her to have the best Kimono of them all.

After hours of thought and countless rejected kimonos, Hanabi finally decided on a simple lavender Kimono that would preserve her modesty. The Hyuuga crest would be over the right side of her chest, but the Uchiha Clan symbol was large and prominent on the back of the Kimono. It was something that she was sure that Sasuke would appreciate. She also had it modeled after her mother's wedding Kimono that had been buried with Hiashi, so she was sure that Hinata would find the kimono perfect.

Hanabi smiled contently to herself thinking that she did a good job, but her smile didn't last long as her senses went haywire. Her guards also noticed that something was amiss and soon they were surrounded by what seemed to be a group of shinobi, but the Hyuuga noticed that none of them had eyes.

"Who are you idiots supposed to be?" Hanabi asked when she noticed that none of them had moved to attack them.

"If you were expecting a response from the puppets then you're wasting your time"

Hanabi and the other Hyuuga turned their heads towards the source of the voice to see a man with his eyes closed.

He seemed to be around the age of Hinata and Sasuke, but he had a weird aura surrounding him.

"Who are you?" Hanabi asked as she activated her Byakugan in anticipation of a fight.

The man smirked when he felt the chakra Hanabi was releasing. She had a pure Byakugan and he was more happy about this discovery.

"I'm Toneri Otsutsuki and I'm here to take you're Byakugan so that I can destroy the flawed world that has been created due to your misuse of chakra. Will you give them to me or will I have to take them by force?" Toneri asked.

"What do you think?" Hanabi asked while getting into her Gentle Fist stance along with the rest of her Hyuuga guards.

"Quite the firecracker aren't you?" Toneri asked in amusement. When she didn't respond, Toneri sighed and continued "Fine then, I guess that we'll just do this the hard way" Toneri said as he sent his puppets to attack.

XxXxXx

Unaware of Hanabi's battle; Hinata was currently pulling Sasuke around the Village.

Ever since their engagement at Madara's release party, the upcoming triple wedding is the only thing that the Leaf Villagers were talking about. Naruto and Sasuke were the heroes of the war, so the news of the wedding spread around the Five Great Nations.

Hinata was showing Sasuke all the billboards that littered around the Village.

"Everyone seems so excited for the upcoming weddings" Sasuke said as he looked at the different posters and billboards.

"Yeah, its almost unnerving how many people are coming. All of the Kage and Feudal Lords already confirmed that they were coming and a lot more influential people have asked Neji-nii if they could attend" Hinata said with a drop of sweat forming on her forehead.

It wasn't that she wasn't grateful that everyone wanted to come to her wedding, she was honored really. Its just that she didn't like all of the attention that she was getting, she's always been introverted.

"Hn well I guess that's fine as long as none of them are foolish enough to object during the wedding" Sasuke said with a shrug.

Hinata smiles and shakes her head at Sasuke even though she internally agreed. Between her clan, the remaining Uchiha Clan members, Naruto and their friends; she pitied anyone foolish enough to object the wedding.

"So…" Sasuke said as he grabbed Hinata's hand getting her attention.

"Yes Sasuke?" Hinata asked as she looked up at her Fiancé.

"I know that we haven't really talked about this before, and it's not as urgent now because of Itachi, Obito and Madara being in the Village; but how many children would you like to have?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata's face turned a bright red as she looked at Sasuke. He was looking deep into her eyes urging her to answer the question, and the intense look in his eyes didn't do anything but make Hinata blush more.

"Um, uh" Hinata stuttered as her face continued to redden.

Sensing that she wasn't expecting that sort of question, Sasuke quickly tried to ease her mind so that she didn't faint.

"I mean I've always wanted a big family personally, but I wanted to know how many that you would like to have, so I dont set my expectations too high" Sasuke said.

At Sasuke's words Hinata's blush slowly faded away and was replaced by a contemplative look.

"Hmm I'd say that we can have any where between three to five children, but I'm not going past five Sasuke. I refuse to be outnumbered two to one by our kids" Hinata said with a strict voice as if she was putting her foot down.

Sasuke smiled at her and kissed her lips gently before nodding.

"I agree Hime. Three to five will do just fine for me" Sasuke said

Sasuke was about to give Hinata another kiss, but a random Leaf Shinobi came and interrupted them, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"What do you want?" Sasuke snapped feeling a little peeved that his kiss had been interrupted.

The shinobi cowered a little at Sasuke's intense glare, but he quickly brushed it off and told them his purpose for interrupting them.

"Hokage-Sama has sent me to gather both you and Hinata for a mission. He said that its urgent and S-Class" the shinobi said.

Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment, before Sasuke grabbed Hinata's hand and quickly teleported them to the Hokage's office.

XxXxXx

Kakashi had a solemn look in his eyes as he looked at the seven shinobi that he gathered in his office for the crisis that they were suddenly facing.

Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Hinata, Haku, Sakura, and Shikamaru were all looking at him with curious expressions on their faces. They knew that they were summoned for an S-Class mission but no one could figure out what the mission entailed.

Ever since the war ended, there were hardly any reason for B-rank missions, let alone S-Class, so they knew that the situation had to be serious, especially since Kakashi summoned so many shinobi.

"So what's the problem Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked first since he was the most impatient person in the room.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his head as Obito frowned. Their body language alone had everyone in the room on edge.

"Well there's actually two major problems Naruto" Obito said.

"The first problem is that Hanabi Hyuuga has been kidnapped by a mysterious enemy that called himself Toneri Otsutsuki…" Kakashi started but he was quickly cut off by 3 dojutsu's activating and Naruto's Bijuu Chakra exploding around him.

"Hanabi's been kidnapped by an Otsutsuki? I thought Kaguya was the only one that we'd have to deal with, but there's more of them" Naruto said with a growl.

"How long has it been since she's been captured?" Neji asked with his Byakugan searching out of the Village up to 800 meters away. Hinata was doing the same, but neither Hyuuga could see Hanabi or trace her chakra signature.

"One of the Hyuuga Guards that were returned with minor injuries only a few minutes ago, and the only thing that he would say was the attacker's name and Tenseigan, but we still don't know what that is. I summoned you all immediately" Kakashi said purposefully leaving out the fact that the shinobi came back with three very expensive looking wedding kimonos.

"Bring him in here" Sasuke said with one eye the bright red of the Sharingan and the other the vibrant purple of the Rinnegan.

Hanabi has been like a little sister to him ever since he and Hinata's friendship started when they seven, and Sasuke was just as protective over her as Neji, Naruto and Hinata were. He'd kill whoever tried to harm her.

Kakashi figured that Sasuke would ask to talk to the Hyuuga, so he whistled and Hanare brought the man in. The man was visibly shaken from the attack, but when he saw the faces of Hinata and Neji glaring at him, he felt even more shame for failing to protect Hanabi.

"Neji-sama, Hinata-sama, I'm sorry but I couldn't stop them from kidnapping Hanabi-sama. I wanted to help, but Hanabi sent me away" The man said.

"What do you mean she sent you away?" Hinata asked, but the Hyuuga stayed quiet. Hanabi made him swear that he wouldn't tell her, so he honored that promise.

However, his silence just made Sasuke angrier.

"Spare me your apologies and tell me what you know" Sasuke said.

"What? Ive already told Lord Hokage and Obito everything that I remember from the situation. I'm not hiding anything from them" The Hyuuga said with a nervous voice.

Sasuke looked at the man for a moment to see whether or not he was hiding anything, and from the look in his eyes Sasuke knew that the man was far too scared of him to lie to his face, but Sasuke also had a feeling that they're was more information that they could obtain from the man.

"Hn. I believe you" Sasuke said as he grabbed the man's head with his Rinnegan shining brightly.

Shikamaru was about to use his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu to try to restrain Sasuke, but when everyone else in the room glared at him, he stopped and just watched to see what Sasuke was about to do.

Sasuke pulled the Hyuuga's soul partially out of his body as he scanned through the man's memories.

He witnessed everything that the man had seen in the past few days. From Hanabi customizing the wedding dresses, to when they were ambushed by Toneri and his puppets. Hanabi sent the man away during the battle to make sure that the kimono's would make it back to the leaf.

Once Sasuke got a good look at Toneri, he released the man's soul because he got all the information he needed. All he needed to know is what Toneri looked like, and what his chakra signature felt like and the memory of the Hyuuga Guard provided both. He also found out what Toneri was planning to do, and that was something that Sasuke would not allow to happen.

When his soul re-entered his body, the Hyuuga Guard fell on the ground and looked back up at Sasuke with uncontrollable fear in his eyes. It was obvious that the man was discombobulated by Sasuke pulling out his soul to read his mind, so Sasuke figured that it would probably be best if he eased the Guard's tension a little.

"Sorry about that, it was the only way for me to know everything that happened. I was never actually going to kill you" Sasuke said as he held a hand towards the man as an offer.

The man was hesitant to take Sasuke's hand considering that that same hand had just held his soul, but after noticing that Sasuke's right eye returned to its normal black color, and his Rinnegan had become a dull purple; he took Sasuke's hand and allowed the man to help him up.

"So what did you gather from that Sasuke?" Kakashi asked his former student.

"I know what Toneri looks like and I know his chakra signature. I also know the exact location that Hanabi and her guards were ambushed and once we go there, the loser should be able to track Toneri with the help of the Nine Tails. I also know of his plans" Sasuke said.

Everyone in the room was inwardly impressed with Sasuke's Rinnegan ability, but they knew that there would be time to marvel over it later as they had pressing matters to attend to first.

"With this information we have all we need for the mission, so we're heading out now" Neji said as he and the others turned and began to make their way towards the door, but Obito's voice stopped them.

"Wait, if you recall there's still another major problem that we have to deal with" the scarred man said with a grim voice.

"I'm sure that whatever it is can wait until we get Hanabi back" Naruto said irritably.

"I don't think that it can, but it's definitely connected to Hanabi's kidnapping" Kakashi said with a frown that could seen through his mask.

"What could possibly be more important that getting Hanabi-sama back?" Neji asked with a barely contained growl.

Kakashi and Obito looked at each other with a saddened expression, having a mental discussion on who should break the news to them, but luckily Sasuke spoke up.

"The moon is getting closer to the Earth. In a few days it's going to crash into the planet and destroy it, if we cant stop it" Sasuke said.

Everyone looked at Sasuke in surprise at his words and knew that this mission was bigger than just saving Hanabi. This mission was about saving everyone on the planet.

XxXxXx

They left the Village immediately after that, and quickly made it to the spot where Hanabi was kidnapped.

Neji and Hinata both had their Byakugan's activated just in case Toneri decided to return to the spot, while Naruto was in Bijuu mode trying to track where Hanabi was taken. It didn't take long for him and Kurama to pick up on Hanabi's chakra signature.

"We got something guys, but its faint. Come on let's get going before it disappears completely" Naruto said as he jumped into a nearby tree.

The others followed immediately with no hesitation and after a few miles Naruto led them to the entrance of a weird looking cave.

"This is where Kurama said that Hanabi was taken too. Lets go and get her back" Naruto said as he began to walk into the cave followed by everyone else.

As they journeyed deeper into the cave they stumbled upon what looked like a lake of some sort.

"Well, Naruto where do we go now?" Shikamaru asked as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Kurama says that the lake is actually an entrance to something else. He said that he doesn't know what's down there, but he knows for sure that Hanabi was taken there" Naruto said.

"That's all I needed to hear" Neji said as he and Hinata dived into the water.

The rest of the group followed shortly after and soon they felt their world fade to black for the briefest of moments.

Sasuke noticed that there was a Genjutsu in the water as soon as he entered the lake, so he quickly freed everyone, before they could be in the Genjutsu for too long.

"Thank you Sasuke, I didn't even notice that I was stuck in a Genjutsu because of how quickly you pulled me out of it. It sure is useful having you around on missions" Shikamaru said.

Sasuke nodded as they all landed on a nearby rock only to see that there was another spring that would seemingly have to travel through.

"Hinata, Neji, can either of you use your Byakugan here?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at the second lake.

Both Neji and Hinata tried to activate their Byakugan, but something was blocking them from seeing what else was in the cave. When Shikamaru saw their confused faces he took that as a no, so he sighed at how troublesome this mission was.

"Ugh I figured as much. Everyone prepare yourselves for a fight" Shikamaru said as he jumped off the rock and into the second spring.

"Right" everyone responded as Naruto, Neji, Sakura and Haku jumped into the spring after Shikamaru.

Hinata was about to jump in but she saw that Sasuke hesitated a moment. She looked at him with a questioning expression on her face.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at her before his activated Sharingan morphed into his Mangekyou and his Rinnegan shined to life. He didn't say anything he just jumped into the spring, leaving Hinata alone on the rock like structure.

Hinata was about to jump in when a voice from behind stopped her.

"I was hoping that you'd come after your sister, Byakugan Princess"

Hinata turned around to see Toneri Otsutsuki on a rock near her. When Toneri knew that he got her attention he jumped onto the same rock that she was on to get a closer look.

She was every bit as beautiful as he expected her to be and even more so. The eyes that he took from Hanabi let him see every detail of Hinata and he desperately wanted more. Hinata, only the other hand, was anything but happy to see Toneri.

"Return my sister to me at once" Hinata said as she got into her battle stance.

Toneri put his hands up in a peaceful gesture, but Hinata was not getting out of her battle stance. Seeing that she wouldn't relax, Toneri sighed and showed her the image of Hanabi inside of his castle. This caused Hinata to relax out of her battle stance, to look at her sister with worry in her eyes.

"I promise that no harm came to your little sister. I just needed her eyes, but she'll be allowed to live and I'll even let her go if you promise me one thing" Toneri said.

"What would that be?" Hinata asked while her hands were shaking.

It took Hinata every ounce of self control not to lunge at Toneri after he said that he took Hanabi's eyes, but she remained calm to hear what he had to say next.

"I want you to promise that you'll be my wife" Toneri said.

Hinata was surprised and disgusted by the man's words. She would never marry a man that kidnapped her sister and stole her eyes. Even if he hadn't done all that she still wouldn't have married him, because she was engaged to the most sought after shinobi in all of the 5 great nations. She was about to voice her disgust but she didn't get the chance to.

"I thought I sensed another presence with us, and I'm so glad that it was you. You just talked your way into an early grave" Sasuke said as he suddenly appeared in front of Hinata.

Toneri took a few steps back in surprise.

"What? How long were you here?" Toneri asked.

"Long enough, I had to hide because I had a feeling that you wouldn't reveal yourself if I stayed. I don't appreciate you trying to propose to my fiancé" Sasuke said as he glared at Toneri.

Toneri looked into Sasuke's eyes and was surprised by what he saw. Not only did he possess a Mangekyou Sharingan, but he also had the legendary Rinnegan.

' _ **I'm outmatched. I can't hope to defeat a man with a Rinnegan until my Tenseigan matures. I must avoid him until then'**_ Toneri thought to himself as he felt fear for the first time, but he quickly swallowed the fear and smirked at Sasuke.

"She's your fiancé huh? That hardly matters because soon she'll be mine. Once my Tenseigan matures then no one will be able to stop me, not even you" Toneri said as he watched Sasuke's frown deepen.

However, Toneri was not prepared for Sasuke to disappear from sight, only to reappear right in front of him with lightning chakra channeling through his unsheathed sword.

Toneri didn't even have time to blink as he was decapitated by Sasuke. His head looked up at Sasuke as he sheathed his sword and grunted.

"Dammit so it was a puppet. You're smarter than you look" Sasuke said

"I wouldn't risk coming here with my physical body. You will never touch me. Hinata the next time we meet, I'll be expecting your answer" Toneri said before Sasuke stepped on his head and ended the link with his puppet.

Once Sasuke killed the puppet he looked at Hinata who had a sad expression on her face after seeing Hanabi's condition.

"He took her eyes Sasuke" Hinata said as Sasuke pulled her into a hug.

"I know we'll get them back and we'll stop the moon as well. Don't worry, I wont let him take you from me" Sasuke said.

Hinata nodded in agreement, but little did Sasuke know she already planned to go with Toneri. She would save Hanabi by any means necessary. She just hoped that Sasuke could forgive her in the end.

XxXxXx

While Sasuke and Hinata were dealing with the Toneri puppet, the rest of the group were engaged in a battle with the crab-like guardian of the entrance.

"NARUTO" everyone shouted as they saw the crab hit him, sending him flying back a few feet only to land in a backflip.

"I'm fine, that barely tickled" Naruto said with a smile as he attacked the crab again.

This angered the crab and it fired a water style jutsu that Neji easily protected everyone from with his Rotation.

The crab tried to attack again but it was stuck in Shikamaru's 'Shadow Paralysis Jutsu' so it couldn't move. Taking advantage of this, Haku threw senbon into the crabs eyes, while Neji propelled Sakura with his Air Palm allowing the pink haired shinobi to get close enough to the crab to deliver a shell shattering punch.

The hit completely destroyed the crab's exoskeleton and killed it, leaving the group to wonder about where Sasuke and Hinata were.

"The bastard and Hina-chan are sure taking their time. Normally I would tease them about them spending alone time together, but this wouldn't be the time for them to be doing anything considering Hanabi is kidnapped" Naruto said.

"I agree, maybe we should go back. It's likely that they are battling someone as well" Neji said.

"Its very likely, however I doubt that we need to go back. This is Sasuke we're talking about. I'm sure that he was capable of defeating whatever threat that came their way" Shikamaru said logically and as if on cue, Sasuke and Hinata emerged from the spring.

"We were just talking about you guys" Sakura said as she saw them look at the remains of the Crab monster.

"I take it we missed a fight? Did you need us?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't change the subject Bastard, what took you two so long to get here?" Naruto asked.

"Toneri sent a puppet to talk to me and Sasuke destroyed it. We're fine, let's just keep moving" Hinata said as she continued to walk into the cave they arrived in.

Neji and Naruto looked at Sasuke with questioning looks, but he just shrugged and followed Hinata, until they reached an opening with an artificial sun.

No one knew where they were as they traveled the strange place that they stumbled upon. Shikamaru suggested that they all get some rest, and with no one having any other ideas, that's what they did.

XxXxXx

Eventually they found an abandoned town and split up into groups to investigate. Naturally Sasuke and Hinata were in a group together as well as the other couples, and being the odd man out, Shikamaru was paired with a clone of Naruto.

While Sasuke and Hinata were exploring the abandoned Village they talked to each other about nothing, and about everything.

Topics varied from the wedding all the way to Itachi and Hana's hypothetical children. They both laughed at one of Sasuke's more outrageous theories that their son would look like a black haired Kiba with Itachi's stress lines covered by red markings.

When they got over their shared laughter Sasuke suddenly got a more serious face. Hinata was about to ask him what's wrong, but Sasuke beat her too it.

"I've known you for a very long time Hinata, and I made it my personal goal to know everything about you from how to act when you're shy to how you act when you're trying to be sneaky and I cant seem to shake this feeling that you're hiding something from me" Sasuke said.

Hinata froze as Sasuke's eyes met hers. From the look in Hinata's eyes Sasuke could tell that he was right and that she was indeed hiding something from him. That didn't sit well with him but he urged himself not to get mad at her. Hinata's sister had been captured and the moon was heading towards the earth as they spoke, so Sasuke knew that she was under a lot of stress. He just wished that she didn't think that she had to shoulder whatever burden she thought that she had alone.

' _ **I'm such a hypocrite. During my last life, all I did was try to shoulder everything thing alone. I definitely have no right to be mad at her for that'**_ Sasuke thought to himself, as he grabbed Hinata's hand.

"Look, I didn't hear the whole conversation between you and Toneri because I was trying to stay hidden, but I'm sure that he mentioned something to you about Hanabi right?" Sasuke asked.

When Hinata nodded then he continued talking.

"So I'm assuming that you're thinking that you have to go with him to find out where Hanabi is so that you can try to save her yourself, but in order to do that you'd have to distance yourself from me. If you showed enough distance then Toneri would think that we aren't together, so he'll be more likely to trust you right?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata looked down with a saddened look on her face. She hoped that Sasuke didn't feel betrayed because she would never leave him for Toneri, she just wanted Toneri to be able to trust her so that she could save her sister.

"Sasuke…you have to understand I wasn't going to leave you for real,I just…" She trialed off when Sasuke raised his hand at her. She was nervous that Sasuke would be mad at her, but all her nervousness and fears melted away when Sasuke pulled her into a long passionate kiss.

She could feel all of Sasuke's love, understanding and support from the kiss and she knew that Sasuke wasn't mad at her. She smiled into the kiss as a few tears escaped her eyes. When they pulled apart, Hinata looked up to see Sasuke smiling.

"I had a feeling that you were going to start rambling Hime. You know that I'm not really good with words, but I hope that you know that I will support you through whatever you decide to do, so you don't need to hide things from me okay?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded and embraced Sasuke again, happy that her fiancé understood why she felt that she needed to go with Toneri.

"I love you Sasuke" Hinata said as she buried her face in his chest.

Sasuke chuckled a little before kissing her forehead and placing his lips next to her ear.

"I love you too Hinata. Forever"

XxXxXx

A hour or so after this, Shikamaru found an ancient cave that held some writing on the wall and called everyone to meet up there. They were confused about what the 'Tensei eye that would destroy mankind was' until Hinata and Sasuke got there and explained to them about what Toneri said about the 'Tenseigan'.

But soon Hinata heard a voice in her head calling her the 'Byakugan Princess' before a door in the floor opened leading to a crypt.

Once they entered the crypt, Hinata and Neji were instantly on alert because they noticed the presence of someone else in the room.

Shikamaru shined the light at a man with no eyes walking towards them.

"It's the Byakugan, yes I'm certain of it! The Byakugan Princess is here" the eyeless man said as he approached Hinata only to be stopped by the tip of Sasuke's Kusanagi.

When he realized that he couldn't get any closer to Hinata, he regurgitated an orb from his mouth.

Everyone looked at the orb, but only Hinata could see the message hidden inside of it. It was so overwhelming that it caused Hinata to faint due to the shock in her system. Sasuke caught her while Naruto and Neji got ready to attack the man.

"What did you do to her?" Naruto yelled accusingly, but the man ignored his question as the orb disappeared into his body once more.

"The Tenseigan has been revived, you must put a stop to it or Otsutsuki will destroy…" The man didn't get another word out as his body dissolved completely.

No one knew what happened but they knew that they had to get Hinata out of the crypt at once.

XxXxXx

Hinata woke up in a strange place. She thought that she was alone, but soon her senses alerted her to the fact that there were many people in the room with her. The graves that she had seen were replaced by the actual people that they belonged too.

Hinata had no clue who they were, but she didn't have long to wait as the man who was in the front began speaking to her.

"We are the main family descendents from Hamura Otsutsuki. We were all murdered by the Side branch family after they wrongly misinterpreted Hamura's celestial decree, and now Toneri wants to use the power of the Tenseigan to destroy the earth. As Hamura's descendent only you can destroy the Tenseigan. You are the Earth's last hope Byakugan Princess." The man said before bowing.

Hinata was confused as she thought about what the man said. She frowned when the man and the rest of the people behind him bowed and was about to tell them that they didn't have to, but soon she realized that they weren't bowing to her, as she noticed another man walking towards her. A man with an ominous presence.

"You're Hamura Otsutsuki" Hinata said with amazement in her voice.

Hamura nodded before addressing her.

"Listen Byakugan Princess, I'm counting on you to put a stop to Toneri's plans. Do not let the world that Hagoromo created be destroyed" Hamura said.

Hinata didn't know what to say, so she just nodded at his words. Hamura let a small smile on his face as he placed his hand on Hinata's forehead to share his chakra with her.

"You now hold my chakra, so only you can stop the Tenseigan, but I have a feeling that Hagoromo's descendants will be more than capable enough to handle Toneri himself" Hamura said as he began to fade away.

Hinata was confused, but soon the whole room faded away and was replaced with a bright light.

XxXxXx

When Hinata awoke she was embraced by the entire group, with the exception of Shikamaru.

"Hinata are you okay?" Sakura asked.

Hinata nodded as she looked at the concerned faces of all of her friends until her eyes finally met Sasuke's. She knew that he deserved to know what she just experienced and she was going to tell him.

Hinata vowed that there would be no secrets between them, so she sat up and looked Sasuke right in his eyes as she spoke.

"Ive spoken to Hamura Otsutsuki and I know how to stop Toneri's plans, but you all have to trust me" Hinata said.

Everyone looked skeptical at Hinata except for Naruto and Sasuke, who had both talked to Hagoromo before so they knew that the Otsutsuki Clan had a habit of talking to people while they were in comas.

"What did you have in mind Hime?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata smiled and told everyone one what her plans were. There were a few objections from Naruto and Neji, who weren't fond of Hinata allowing herself to be taken by Toneri, but after a few revisions to the plan by Shikamaru and Sasuke, everyone agreed that Hinata's was the most likely one for success even though Naruto and Neji still weren't happy with it.

Later that night when he thought that everyone else was sleep, Toneri came to get Hinata and she left with little hesitation much to Toneri's delight. Little did he know, Sasuke and others watched her leave with him and their plan had already been put into motion.

XxXxXx

Once Hinata was in Toneri's castle, it didn't take long for her to find her sister.

She was relieved to find that Hanabi was alive and responsive, even though she had gotten her eyes taken from her. She activated her Byakugan as Toneri lead her around his castle with the intention of familiarizing her with his home in an effort to make her more comfortable.

"And over there you can see…" Hinata tuned Toneri out as she finally found what she was looking for. There was an area near the castle that her Byakugan couldn't see, and she assumed that that was where the Tenseigan was. All she had to do was wait until Toneri's guard was down then she'd be able to destroy it and stop the moon from destroying the Earth.

"…Hinata are you listening?" Toneri asked forcing Hinata to focus back on the conversation. Toneri was a little annoyed that Hinata had been ignoring him, but he figured it was because she was thinking about the friends that she would never see again. One name in particular came to mind.

"I asked you why you so willingly came to me. During my brief battle with Sasuke Uchiha, he made it pretty clear that you two were about to get married, so what changed your mind" Toneri asked.

Hinata looked at him to see Hanabi's eyes looking back at her. She didn't like lying, but she knew that telling Toneri the truth would ruin the plan, so decided to give a half truth.

"I wanted to make sure that my sister was okay, and I wanted to see if I could talk you out of crashing the moon into the earth" Hinata said.

A frown formed on Toneri's face at her words.

"While I understand the urge to check on your sister, why did you think that you could talk me out of following Hamura's celestial decree?" Toneri asked.

"That's just it. Ive spoken to Hamura, and you've misinterpreted what he wrote. He doesn't want to destroy the world that his older brother created. There's a crypt in one of the villages that will prove what I just told you as the truth. You don't have to believe me, but just visit the crypt and see for yourself" Hinata said partially pleading with Toneri.

She figured that if she could get Toneri to visit the crypt then they wouldn't have to violently stop him. She had a feeling that things could be resolved peacefully, besides she knew that Sasuke's possessiveness could give him the urge to kill Toneri when he sees him. Hinata didn't like Toneri in the slightest, but she didn't want a misunderstanding to lead to the man's death.

"You fool. I think I'd know more about my clan then you do. We wont speak of this anymore" Toneri said with a frown on his face before he suddenly dropped to his knees in agonizing pain.

"Whats wrong?" Hinata asked. She wasn't happy with Toneri's response, but she naturally wanted to help anyone who was in pain, even the man that took her sister's eyes.

"Nothing, its just a headache as the eyes adjust to my DNA. I assume that it wont be long now until they mature into the full Tenseigan" Toneri said with a smirk on his face.

Hinata frowned but didn't say nothing. Now that she knew where the Tenseigan weapon was, she could put the plan into motion, and put a stop to Toneri.

 **TBC**

 **Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates them around this time whether its Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate. Originally this was suppose to be one big chapter, but I decided to split it up into two. So this is part one of my version of 'The Last', now on to reviews.**

 **Shikara Gizzel- Honestly I have no clue. Maybe it was because Hinata was older. I mean I think Hanabi is only like 14 at this point right.**

 **Sara-Nadia- that you for the review, and I hope I didn't take too long to update this time…**

 **Splaaash-Attack- Thank you. I hope that you enjoyed this one too.**

 **MarethyuQ- Thank you, and I don't think so. I haven't watched Boruto so I don't think that I'm going to adapt that into the 'Trying Again' universe. After 'The Last' arc and the weddings then this story will probably be done.**

 **Nevvy- Thank you for this review! Ill be keeping all of this in mind, and it'll be a little bit before the wedding if you don't mind waiting just a little bit longer.**

 **Xhope14x- Yeah I'm going to finish 'the last' movie because people been asking me to do that since like chapter 5 lol but I'm glad you liked it.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- Sorry for the wait… again but I'm glad that you liked the chapter. I hoped that this one was good too, even tho its vastly different from how the movie was, and I'm going to post the next story immediately after I post the final chapter to this one.**

 **Wws (Guest)- Thank you and that's a good idea. For the next story I could have Neji more or less even with them.**

 **Thank you for everyone that continues to read and review my story. Please Review or Pm me to let me know what you think about this chapter- Dishon 3**


	46. The Last (Part 2)

**Chapter 46**

Later that night when Hinata was sure that Toneri was sleeping, she snuck outside the castle to look for the cave that she believed contained the Tenseigan.

She searched with her Byakugan for a few minutes until she once again found the cave that she couldn't see into. Hinata quickly leapt onto the island that contained the cave and ran into it. She kept running for a few seconds until she stumbled upon a corridor that contained a giant yellow orb that seemed to have an infinite amount of chakra inside it. Hinata instantly knew that this was the Tenseigan that Hamura had spoke of.

She prepared to destroy it using the chakra that Hamura gave her, but before she could follow through with her attack she felt herself become surrounded.

She quickly turned and saw at least a dozen of Toneri's puppets surrounding her and cutting off her escape route. They said nothing, instead they just attacked her.

' _ **Well I tried to do this as peacefully as possible'**_ Hinata thought to herself as she dodged the first attack from a puppet.

She thrusted a palm out into the next puppets chest causing it to fly back into another group puppets, but more continued to attack her.

Hinata expertly dodged and weaved out of the way of the puppets attacks for a few moments before a strong hand grabbed her arm ceasing her movements completely.

Hinata gasped in surprise before turning to find that the one that grabbed her was Toneri. He glared at her with light blue eyes.

"What were you trying to do to the Tenseigan, Hinata?" Toneri asked in a deadly but quiet voice, however Hinata wasn't intimidated.

"I'm destroying it, If you'd actually listen to me then you'd know that Hamura didn't want the earth destroyed! He wants to protect the Earth that his older brother, the Sage of Six Paths, had cherished" Hinata said trying to plead her case to Toneri, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Enough! I already told you that I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense. I really wished that you would've just listened to me Hinata. That way I wouldn't of had to hurt you" Toneri said as he twisted Hinata's arm behind her back.

Hinata winced in pain for a little bit before she braced herself and started to raise her chakra, confusing Toneri.

"I can say the same thing to you" Hinata said as her chakra levels raised to her maximum output.

The electric feel to Hinata's chakra stung Toneri's hand a little bit, but it wasn't nearly enough to make him release his grip on her arm. Just when he was about to ask Hinata what her purpose was in doing that, a large purple portal was opened in the Tenseigan chamber.

Toneri didn't know what the portal was but he could feel the concentrated chakra swirling around it, and that made him feel uneasy.

He gave the signal for his puppets to surround the portal, just in time for Neji and Sakura to charge though. As soon as they saw what was going on, they started to attack every puppet in sight. Haku and Shikamaru were the next two through the portal and quickly engaged in battle with the puppets as well.

"Take the battle outside! Don't let these fools damage the Tenseigan" Toneri ordered as his puppets began to force Neji, Sakura, Shikamaru and Haku back towards the entrance of the cage.

"You're coming with me" Toneri told Hinata as he began to pull her along, but a voice stopped him.

"Actually I'll be taking my Hime back"

Toneri turned and looked at the portal with a frown on his face as he watched Naruto and Sasuke emerge from the portal last.

"I should've known that you simpletons would come for Hinata, but its too late. She's mine now" Toneri said causing Naruto to laugh.

"That was funny, but Hina-chan definitely doesn't belong to you. You might as well give up now before Sasuke kills you. The Bastard is known to be dangerously possessive" Naruto said with a smirk after he recovered from his laughter.

Sasuke flared his chakra a little bit to prove Naruto's point, but Toneri could tell that opening the portal took a lot of chakra and he was no longer intimidated by Sasuke's Rinnegan. His Tenseigan was awakened and he believed in its power. Despite this, however, he was still a little bit wary of the legendary Rinnegan's full power.

Despite the portal that Sasuke had created obviously requiring an amazing amount of chakra to open, Sasuke didn't even look winded. With this in mind, Toneri thought that it would be smarter to avoid a one on one confrontation with Sasuke if he could help it. He'd rather not risk defeat.

Then an idea struck him.

"Hm even if that is truly the case, would he be willing to kill Hinata to get to me?" Toneri asked as a smirk formed on his face. Naruto and Sasuke frowned at his question but they were unprepared for what he did next.

Before anyone could move Toneri shoved an orb of light into Hinata's chest, as he let her arm go with his smirk widening.

Sasuke charged towards Toneri with his lightning chakra pulsating through his sword with every intention to cut Toneri's head off, but he was surprised to feel Hinata's chakra rise as she moved to get in between him and Toneri.

Sasuke had to stop his attack only centimeters in front of Hinata's face in order to not accidentally hurt her. Toneri saw this and laughed.

"What's wrong Uchiha? I thought that you were going to kill me?" Toneri taunted.

"Hinata you gotta move" Sasuke said quietly making Toneri even more amused.

"She wont listen to you anymore. She's mine now" Toneri said laughing.

Sasuke barely paid any attention to the man as he stared into Hinata's eyes. She had the same look that she always got when she was determined to do something, but it also looked like her eyes were glazed over, which showed Sasuke that she was being controlled.

Sasuke was pissed, but he couldn't let his anger overwhelm him. Not at a time like this when Hinata was in a dangerous situation. Sasuke took a step away and sheathed his sword, to make sure he didn't accidentally hurt Hinata, when Toneri saw this he decided to take advantage.

"Hinata kill him" Toneri commanded before he turned around and left the room.

Sasuke was about to go after him, but he barely had enough time to dodge an air palm filled with destructive medical chakra, but that wasn't all as Hinata continued to attack him, forcing Sasuke to stay alert to dodge his fiancés attacks.

Naruto walked forward to help him, but Sasuke's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't worry about me Dobe, I'll handle this. I'm leaving Toneri to you" Sasuke said as he continued to dodge Hinata's attacks.

Naruto was conflicted. He knew that if he was fighting seriously then Sasuke could take care of Hinata with no problem, but he didn't want Sasuke to hurt Hinata and he knew that Sasuke would hold back so that he wouldn't hurt her, but that meant that Hinata would have the chance to seriously hurt Sasuke, if he wasn't careful. Naruto didn't want to leave two of his closest friends in this situation, but Sasuke's look told him that he had it under control.

Naruto frowned as he went into his Bijuu mode. He figured that the sooner he kicked Toneri's ass, the sooner that Sasuke and Hinata would stop fighting, so with that resolve in mind, Naruto went after Toneri.

Now that he and Hinata were alone, Sasuke was trying to come up with a way to break Hinata free of Toneri's mind control.

"Hinata stop attacking me" Sasuke said while dogging another gentle fist, but once again his plea fell on deaf ears.

' _ **This is bad. I don't want to harm Hinata, but she's attacking me with all that she has. I have to find a way to get rid of whatever control Toneri has over her before she finds a way to break my defenses'**_ Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to dodge Hinata's attacks.

He tried to talk her out of attacking him some more but nothing that he was saying was working which made Sasuke think that Toneri's technique worked like an advanced Genjutsu.

He didn't want to use any chakra to defeat Hinata, but seeing that he didn't have anymore options he decided to use his Rinnegan to see if he could dispel the Genjutsu Toneri placed on Hinata.

After dodging another attack he grabbed her wrists, effectively immobilizing her for a moment. She released her chakra while Sasuke was holding her which stung him a little, but he paid it no mind as he looked into Hinata's eyes was his left eye.

Hinata immediately lost consciousness, but Sasuke held onto her so she didn't hit the ground. When Hinata awoke moments later and blinked with a confused face, Sasuke smiled in relief knowing that she was back to regulate self.

When she looked at Sasuke's smiling face, Hinata couldn't help but smile as well.

She gave Sasuke a quick hug, because of the situation before standing up and activating her Byakugan to survey the area.

She noticed the battle between her friends and Toneri's puppets first. It seemed that they had the upper hand for the moment, but the puppets seemed to just keep coming. Hinata that if the battle wasn't concluded soon then her friends would begin to run low on chakra.

Then she noticed the fight between Naruto and Toneri. She couldn't tell who was winning, but based of what she saw from their chakra pathways; Naruto was in his Six Paths Kyuubi mode and Toneri was in a similar state. This worried her.

"Sasuke, we should go help Naruto with his fight against Toneri. I don't know how much they're trying, but the fight looks evenly matched right now. We can't afford for Toneri to win" Hinata said.

Sasuke thought about Hinata's words for a moment before he shook his head. Hinata was confused by this, but Sasuke spoke up before she had the chance to question him.

"The Idiot is more than capable of handling Toneri by himself. We wont be needed in that fight at all. What we need to do is figure out how to stop the moon from crashing into the Earth" Sasuke said as he looked at the giant orb in the room.

Hinata looked at the Tenseigan as she thought about what Sasuke said. She didn't want to leave Naruto to fight alone, but she knew that Sasuke was right. The moon needed to be stopped.

A determined look appeared on Hinata's face as she grabbed Sasuke's hand and walked forward until they stood right in front of the Tenseigan.

"Let's do this together Sasuke" Hinata said as she let go of his hand.

She then summoned her Lion Fist technique with lightning chakra pulsating around the lion head. Sasuke looked at this and smirked.

"Of course" he said as he summoned a Chidori.

Together, the two attacked the Tenseigan sphere and within moments it was nothing more than particles in the air.

Sasuke smirked and Hinata smiled as the Tenseigan had finally been destroyed.

"Alright, now lets go help Naruto fight Toneri even though I don't think he really needs it" Sasuke said grabbing Hinata's hand before flickering off towards Naruto and Toneri's chakra.

XxXxXx

Shikamaru, Haku, Neji, and Sakura were surrounded by the puppets .

They had been fighting the large group for awhile and they were starting to run out of chakra, but just when they were starting to get desperate; all of the puppets dropped to the floor.

They all looked at the puppets in confusion for a moment before putting two and two together and realizing that the Tenseigan must have been destroyed.

With that knowledge in mind, Shikamaru looked at his hand and was relieved when the device indicated that the moon had stopped its movement towards the Earth. He let out a sigh a relief as he informed the others of the good news.

"Seems like Hinata's plan worked perfectly. The moon has stopped, so now all we have to do is find Hanabi and the mission will be a success" Shikamaru said as he looked at Neji expectantly.

Neji nodded and activated his Byakugan as he searched the area. Soon he found the person he was looking for.

"She's in the palace in a room on the highest floor. Lets go get her now" Neji commanded as he sprinted towards where Hanabi was with the others following him.

When they arrived, Hanabi's ears perked up and she backed away in fear. Without her Byakugan she had no way of telling who was in the room with her, but her nerves were eased when she heard a very familiar voice say her name.

"Hanabi-sama we've come to save you" Neji said.

Hanabi was extremely grateful to hear her cousin's voice, and couldn't help the giant smile that spread across her face.

"Thank you so much Neji. Who else is here? What happened to Hinata? Do you have my eyes with you as well?" Hanabi asked sounding more lively.

"Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji and I are all in the room with you. Hinata is most likely with Sasuke at moment since they both just destroyed the Tenseigan and Naruto is currently fighting Toneri so I'm sure you'll have your eyes back soon enough" Haku explained.

Hanabi nodded and smiled, finally feeling relieved after having her eyes taken from her. Neji smirked at her for a moment before turning his attention towards Naruto's battle with Toneri.

The only thing that was left was to defeat him, then they could finally return to the Village to marry Sakura.

' _ **Hurry this up Naruto. We have things to do'**_ Neji thought to himself as he watched Naruto gain the upper hand

XxXxXx

Back in Konoha, Kakashi was relieved when he noticed that the moon stopped advancing towards the planet but he quickly realized that their problems were far from done as fragments of asteroids were hurdling towards the Village.

Each asteroid was big enough to level Konoha and he couldn't afford to leave even a fragment on the meteors remaining because the falling debris could still cause casualties.

"So what are we going to do about those?" Hanare asked, while holding her stomach. Their baby was due within the next week, which didn't help Kakashi's stress.

He was at lost for what to do for the moment until Obito cleared his throat beside him.

He turned to look at his best friend and saw the smirk on his face as he looked at the approaching meteors.

"Don't worry about anything Hanare. My family is taking care of it" Obito said.

Hearing this, Kakashi looked back towards the meteors only to see a Red and Blue Susanno flying towards them.

He let out a sigh of relief knowing that the situation was now under control. Kakashi knew that the combined power of Itachi and Madara was more than enough to keep their Village safe.

XxXxXx

"You know Itachi, I'm more than enough to get rid of these pebbles flying towards the Village. I don't know why you didn't take my advice and just stay back at the Uchiha District" Madara said as his Susanno sword casually sliced one of the meteors into four pieces.

The pieces were still flying towards the ground until they were obliterated by a massive firestyle jutsu, courtesy of Itachi.

"I came for that reason specifically. I know how Sasuke sometimes neglects the minor details and I figured that you'd be nearly the same way" Itachi said as he continued to destroy the fragments the Madara would leave.

Madara scoffed at his statement while slicing away.

"I'm only doing that because you're here on clean up duty. I'm more than capable of destroying these things at an microscopic level" Madara said.

"Then why didn't you then?" Itachi asked once they were done with the remaining meteors. Madara smirked at his relative before answering.

"I wanted to make the people on the ground, sweat a little bit. It's not everyday that they feel the adrenaline rush that comes with your life being in danger. There's really nothing like it"

Hearing this, Itachi rolled his eyes and flew back towards the ground with Madara in tow.

XxXxXx

By the time that Sasuke and Hinata appeared on the battlefield, Naruto had already subdued Toneri. When he noticed them he smiled.

"Hey guys! I'm glad that Sasuke was able to snap you out of that mind control that this guy had over you" Naruto said as he hugged Hinata.

Hinata returned the hug, but she was surprised to see that Toneri subdued that quickly. Naruto noticed the surprise on her face and laughed.

"He was tough, but nowhere near as tough as Madara or the Bastard. As soon as I figured out how his eye powers worked it was pretty simple to beat him" Naruto said.

When he heard what Naruto said, Toneri frowned but didn't say anything. He knew that he had been defeated.

"Speaking of eyes…" Sasuke said as he walked towards Toneri.

As soon as he got close to him he yanked Hanabi's eyes out of his skull and gave them to Hinata.

"Be sure that your sister gets these. I'll take care of him and then we can go" Sasuke said as he pulled out his sword and turned back towards Toneri with the intention of killing him in the most gruesome way possible.

Naruto, Hinata and Toneri all felt the bloodlust radiating from Sasuke, and looked at it with varying emotions.

Naruto frowned, but didn't step in to intervene. Toneri had kidnapped Hinata, tried to force her into marriage with him, and forced her to fight Sasuke. If it had been Haku, Naruto knew that he'd want to kill him too.

Toneri felt genuine fear but he closed his eyes in acceptance. He knew that he was going to die and that there was nothing that he could say or do that would change that fact.

Hinata was sad as she still held on to the belief that Toneri was just a misguided man trying to honor his clan in the only way he thought was right. Much like Sasuke had been once upon a time.

It was that thought that made Hinata place herself in front of Toneri to shield him from Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned when he saw her, but didn't speak. He knew that she would explain herself, but Sasuke hoped that she had a good reason for this because he was itching to kill and Toneri had already crossed a line with him. Whatever Hinata had to say likely wouldn't change his mind.

"I don't think that you should kill Toneri" Hinata said making Naruto gasp in surprise. Sasuke ignored his best friend as he stayed quiet waiting for Hinata to continue.

"When I spoke to Hamura, he explained to me that Toneri had simply misinterpreted what he had written, so its not his fault. He was simply trying to follow what he thought Hamura's celestial decree was. If we take him to the catacombs that we discovered then he would see the truth for himself. After that, I don't think he'll be a problem for us anymore" Hinata said trying to convince Sasuke.

After hearing Hinata's words, Sasuke thought about how similar Toneri's story was with Madara's, but wasn't enough for Sasuke to want to spare Toneri because of one crucial difference.

"That may be true, but how do expect to explain his attempts to marry you and take you away from me?" Sasuke asked with his frown becoming more pronounced.

Toneri gulped while Naruto and Hinata sweat dropped. Neither one of them had anything to say to that. Toneri had a reason that he wanted Hinata but he doubted that it would help his case, besides he was sure that any comment that he made would result in his instant death at the hands of Sasuke.

Hinata thought for a moment of a way to explain that, but when she came up with nothing, she decided that she had no choice, but to convince Sasuke by other means.

"Naruto, I need you to watch Toneri for a few minutes. Sasuke and I need to talk inside of his Tsukuyomi" Hinata said shocking both of them.

Sasuke was too shocked to maintain the frown on his face, and Naruto's shock quickly gave way to confusion. He didn't know how them talking in the tsukuyomi would help change Sasuke's mind but he nodded.

Sasuke was just as confused as his best friend, but he hypothesized that she just wanted to talk in the tsukuyomi because that way she'd have hours to try to convince him in there while only seconds would have passed in the real world.

Sasuke didn't think that it would work, but he decided to humor her anyway.

He stared at her with the Mangekyou Sharingan in his right eye and soon they were both pulled into the Tsukuyomi world.

XxXxXx

 **Inside the Tsukuyomi World**

Sasuke barely had time to adjust the time in the Tsukuyomi before he was tackled by Hinata. They landed on the ground with thud.

Before he could ask Hinata what she was doing, he felt her smash her lips against his causing him to briefly lose focus.

He didn't know what she was doing, but he definitely wasn't complaining at all as they continued kissing until they were both out of breath.

When they broke apart to breathe, Sasuke was surprised to see Hinata begin to rip his shirt off of him before leaning back in to kiss him once again.

The sudden ferocity in Hinata's kisses and the forwardness that she was displaying instantly reminded him of the forceful Hinata from the Genjutsu World that Obito had put him in. The only difference was that Hinata's hands shyly roamed over his exposed torso instead of possessively touching his body like the other one did.

Sasuke was in such shock that he almost forgot the reason why they were in the Tsukuyomi in the first place.

It took all the willpower that Sasuke possessed, but he managed to pull away from his fiancé, and force her to look at him in the eyes. There was a furious blush on her face, but her eyes were clouded over with obvious lust and love directed towards him.

After seeing this Sasuke had to restrain himself from claiming her lips again.

"Hinata what's going on? Why are you doing this?" Sasuke asked a little more breathless then he was expecting. He watched as Hinata's face turn an even deeper shade of red.

"I just wanted to show that I'm only ever going to love you. I will only ever be for you and I was planning on proving that by giving myself to you right now" Hinata said as she moved away from Sasuke only to remove her shirt before closing the distance between them again.

Sasuke's mind was going haywire while he looked at Hinata's breast that were barely being restrained by the bra that she was wearing.

He had to take control of the situation quickly before he was overwhelmed by the primal feelings that he was experiencing for Hinata.

"Okay message received Hime. We should probably stop now before I lose control of myself. I'd rather our first time not be inside my Tsukuyomi; even though we can definitely explore sex inside the tsukuyomi in the future" Sasuke said with a smirk as he kissed Hinata one more time before standing up.

"I promise that I didn't ever doubt your love and dedication towards me… I'll spare him for now but just know that the second I feel like he's up to something then cut his head off and even you won't be able to stop that" Sasuke said as he quickly ended the tsukuyomi before Hinata could jump him again.

 **End Tsukuyomi**

XxXxXx

"Why have they just been standing there staring at each other for the past 5 minutes?" Toneri asked. He was starting to be able to feel his chakra network again but he was still much to weak to attack a shinobi of Naruto's caliber.

"It's one of Sasuke's techniques. We'll see if Hinata can talk the Bastard out of killing you" Naruto replied.

Neither one of them found that scenario likely, but just as Toneri was about to voice his opinions on the matter, he heard Sasuke speak up.

"Luckily for you, Hinata convinced me to at least let you live to see the catacombs containing the graves of your clan. If you don't understand whatever message she's trying to send you then I will kill you on the spot and leave your corpse there to lie with the rest of your dead clan" Sasuke said as menacingly as he could muster, but to both Toneri and Naruto it seemed like he was a little breathless.

"We'll return my sister's eyes to her and then we'll travel there. Lets go" Hinata said a little breathless as well.

Naruto was too dense to question this and Toneri didn't care to know why they were both breathless. He just nodded his head and did as he was instructed.

XxXxXx

After taking Toneri to the catacombs of the Otsutsuki clan, he finally understood what Hinata was trying to tell him.

He vowed that he wouldn't set foot on Earth again, and that he'd even do everything in his power to protect it from any celestial threats. Sasuke still didn't like him, but he kept his word and didn't kill him after Toneri made that promise.

Neji and Hanabi were against this decision, but they respected it because Hinata asked them to.

With that out of the way Toneri bid everyone farewell and returned to the moon, while the others made their way back to the Village.

Once Hanabi's eyes were recovered from being transplanted back into her head by Sakura, and the Hyuuga got over the fact that one of their heiresses got kidnapped, preparations for the triple wedding of the century began again.

With no more known threats to the world, it was finally time for the happy ending that he so desperately wanted.

 **TBC**

 **AzulaTyya- I appreciate your review for the story. You make a lot of good points and I agree that its hard to right a good in character Sasuke, but I'm doing my best and that's all that matters to me tbh. SilverKitsune's fanfics are always amazing but there are many great SasuHina fanfics where Sasuke is perfectly in character. 'Fate Doesn't Make Mistakes' by Jortulas, and 'Unrequited Hate' by Serenity Moonstone just to name a few. But thank you for telling me this**

 **Hina714- yeah I've definitely been slacking with the updates since real life gets in the way lol but I LOVE 'The True Team 7'. I'm up to date and I've Reviewed every chapter and I definitely suggest everyone who reads this to go check it out as I anxiously await your next chapter.**

 **EnovaStar- I'm grateful for all of your reviews and the one about hooking up in a Genjutsu made me laugh. That's actually a very good question that I'm incapable of answering**

 **Kazu17- Thank you for reading my fic! I'm glad that you enjoyed it up to this point and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well, even though it took months to get out.**

 **Patohf- wow desde Argentina? Estoy tan contento de que the guste este fic! Gracias por leerlo! Y un limon podria Venir el proximo capitulo.**

 **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark- I hope this was good even though it took forever to come out!**

 **Asucey Uchiha- Thank you! And I couldn't give Hinata the Tenseigan. That would just make their kids a little too OP lol**

 **Splaaash- attack- Thank you!**

 **Passivex- Its never too late lol I'm just glad that you're enjoying the story! Thank you for your review**


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